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Neighborhood Report

She fights, and others follow

A Bevis Elementary fifth-grader has starred in commercials and graced billboards to raise awareness about children's cancer.

By HELEN ANNE TRAVIS
Published April 21, 2006

TAMPA - Taylor Arrington, 11, strutted down the catwalk at Saks Fifth Avenue. She wore an embroidered pink blouse, pink shoes and a pink necklace.

When she spun around at the end of the catwalk, the audience applauded. She responded with a smile.

But the young model had one article of clothing that most fashion models don't.

On her head was a pink head scarf. She wore it to cover her thinning strawberry hair, the byproduct of 30 months of chemotherapy.

Diagnosed with cancer at age 8, Taylor modeled with 17 other young cancer fighters at the third annual Fashion Funds the Cure benefit at the WestShore Plaza mall this month.

The young FishHawk Ranch resident is a poster child in the fight to find a cure for the disease.

She has starred in commercials and graced billboards to raise awareness for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation and the Children's Cancer Center.

Hyundai chose Taylor as the face of its national Hope On Wheels tour, a campaign to raise money for children's cancer research.

"She's just a little star," said Mary Kay Arrington, Taylor's mother.

In between fundraising events and biweekly doctor visits, Taylor attends Bevis Elementary School in Lithia, where her maturity far surpasses that of other fifth-graders.

"She knows way more than the average 11-year-old should know," said Taylor's father, Cary Arrington.

"At school, a lot of kids stare at me," said Taylor, who hasn't grown in the three years since her diagnosis. "I learn to ignore them."

It began in the early morning of Sept. 26, 2003. Taylor woke up screaming, in intense pain. In the morning, her parents rushed her to the pediatrician. Twelve hours later, she was taken to St. Joseph's Children's Hospital. Taylor was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare bone cancer that usually attacks children and young adults. She had tumors on her spine, lungs, ribs and pelvis.

"One day she was normal and healthy," Mrs. Arrington said. "The next day we had a child with cancer."

The community stepped in to help. Local businesses held fundraisers. The counselors at Bevis Elementary set up a medical trust fund to help pay for Taylor's treatments.

The fund covered the out-of-pocket costs for doctor visits and medications.

"There's a $250 deductible for hospital admissions. Taylor had 14 admissions in her first year," Mrs. Arrington said. "Had we not had the trust fund, I don't know what we would have done."

Taylor's identical twin sister, Jordan, donated stem cells in hopes of curing Taylor's cancer.

But the 2½ years of chemotherapy have damaged Taylor's lungs. If she received a transplant, there would be a big risk of pulmonary failure.

A year ago in January, doctors told Taylor she had eight months to live. But the little girl with blue eyes and freckles proved them wrong.

"Three or four times the doctors have given us the 'there's nothing more we can do' talk," Cary Arrington said.

Taylor smiles often and laughs a lot. She participates in awareness and fundraising events when she can.

"It gives her an outlet," her mother said. "She feels she's doing something worthwhile."

When she grows up, she wants to be a model or a chef. She says she makes a mean macaroni and cheese.

At the Fashion Funds the Cure benefit at Saks this month, she played with the other models. They ran around the legs of adults sipping wine. The girls played at the feet of the store's bald mannequins, who posed in this season's latest fashions.

Helen Anne Travis can be reached at 661-2439 or htravis@sptimes.com.

[Last modified April 20, 2006, 12:46:02]