Video by Keith Brown and Hayley Curtiss
On Sept. 20, Cabrini’s women’s soccer had what the program likes to call “draft day.” On this day one or two children are drafted to be a part of a local college athletic team. This year the women’s soccer team drafted 13-year-old Lucy Kutz. Lucy will be put on the team’s roster, attend games and many other events that the women’s soccer teams holds.
Lucy is a Norristown native who suffers from epilepsy. Lucy also has some weakness to her right side of her body due to seizures. In May of 2014, Lucy was implanted with a VNS (vagus nerve stimulator) which is a device that is used to treat seizures when her drugs are not effective or do not work properly. What the VNS does is to attempt to disrupt seizures before they happen resulting in Lucy experiencing fewer seizures.
This implant is only effective about 80 percent of the time. Therefore, Lucy has about one seizure a day. Lucy is currently in the process of getting a service dog in January. The service dog will be by her side wherever she goes and will detect seizures.
The Team Impact program is a national organization located in Boston whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses through the power of team. This program started in 2011 and has matched over 900 kids in over 400 schools in 45 states. This program not only improves these children’s lives but also touches and impacts collegiate athletes all around the country.
This is the fourth Cabrini athletic team to have signed a member of Team Impact. The first was by the softball team in 2014 when they signed Jordyn and Coy Zajac. A few months later the men’s lacrosse team signed the late Jaxson Utain who lost his battle to brain cancer on June 20, 2016. Most recently before Lucy, the women’s basketball team signed Karizma Baello in the 2015-2016 season.
If you would like more information on this program or would know of someone who would benefit from this program from ages five to 15 please visit their website.
