ATLANTA — A 15-year-old girl with cancer who stole the hearts of many when she read Georgia's proclamation on Childhood Cancer Awareness Month has died.
Alexis "Lexy" McRae died on Feb. 8 surrounded by family. She bravely fought osteosarcoma, a bone cancer, for four years.
Lexy stole the show with her charisma under the Gold Dome last September, where she raised awareness about battling cancer as a child and the struggles to afford and endure treatment. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp later stepped in to ensure her care when her renewal for the Katie Beckett Medicaid waiver was denied. The governor's interference helped her start a new treatment plan last month.
"Had the governor not stepped in, our time would have been severely cut short with her," Lexy's mother previously said.
Lexy helped advocate for hundreds of other children fighting cancer; she was also a singer, a dancer and a performer.
She spent 350 nights in the hospital after she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at 11 years old. A hospital room is where she would most often perform, but not even the hospital lights could dim her star power.
When she could, she performed for doctors, nurses and other patients going through treatment. More importantly, she used her beautiful voice to speak up for those patients and advocate for them.
Lexy was a spokesperson for the Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research and she presented to Kemp last year.
Though Lexy was the sickest she had ever been, she used her platform to encourage other kids to keep fighting.
"Any kid fighting cancer, you're my hero and I want to be your friend. And I want to help you with anything you're going through," she said in a previous interview with 11Alive's Kaitlyn Ross.
Photos | Alexis McRae
Even now, she's still helping those other kids.
She wrote a bucket list in her final days to benefit children going through cancer treatments.
Among her ideas was to get a slushie machine so children going through treatment have something to drink and a paid subscription to a music service, so when young patients are in loud, scary machines, they don't have to listen to commercial breaks.
Lexy was known to always think of those little things to help make the world a better place.
According to her obituary, she was a daddy's girl, her brother's best friend, and her momma's heart.
She always wanted to be a star and now she is among them.
Lexy's funeral is on Tuesday. For those who'd like to help her finish her bucket list, consider donating here.