Last week you might have seen “#PrincessLacey” or “#LoveLikeLacey” floating around on Twitter. The trend started in memory of a little girl named Lacey Holsworth, who recently died of cancer at age eight. This death was especially heartbreaking for the Michigan State Spartans who had supported the bond between Lacey and their basketball team’s forward Adreian Payne.
Payne is portrayed as a hero by the media for supporting this little girl and making her last few months of life worthwhile. His statements about her, found in an article from ESPN, are touching and profound—there’s no doubt there was love present between them. As a result, a university-wide connection was established between the Spartans and Lacey.
Maura McGlynn, Michigan State junior, is just one of the university’s students that has been inspired by Lacey and involved with honoring her memory on campus.
“Adreian and Lacey’s story has been inspiring for Spartans and people around the world for a lot of reasons,” McGlynn said. “I think people already have a lot of respect for Adreian alone, as he’s overcome a great deal of adversity growing up and has still managed to come out on top. When he formed the special bond he had with Lacey, it was really touching to see two people who dealt with so much at a young age love so endlessly. Lacey’s strength alone was an inspiration as well.”
Multiple organizations on campus, for example, the Greek community, have embraced this connection as well. Christa Akkary, Michigan State sophomore, was involved in such events.
“She was supposed to be one of our guest judges for Greek Week,” Akkary said. “She died the morning of the second event and the entire Greek community held a moment of silence before the IFC president announced a fundraiser in her name.”
In addition to Greek events and other efforts throughout campus, the Spartans painted their rock and held a vigil in her memory the day Lacey passed away. The sad situation has become an inspirational trending topic on social media and a foundation has been created in her name. This little girl has certainly left an impact and will be deeply missed by many.
Photo via ESPN.com
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