Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Chasing a Cure for Childhood Cancer
May 13, 2020 | Softball, HailStateBEAT
by Brian Ogden, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – The first tiny needle slid into Desiree Lewis' knee. Macy Simoneaux, Mississippi State's athletic trainer, carefully inserted a few more into the surrounding muscles and her shin.
Lewis was fascinated. She kept trying to play with the needles, whether she was supposed to or not. She could feel one needle in her shin touching her bone and wanted her teammates that were in the training room to come see for themselves.
The rest of the Bulldog softball team wasn't interested, but Lewis and Simoneaux talked over that needle the same way they discussed any treatments Lewis was interested in.
"Every day I have a million questions for Macy, just because I'm honestly interested," Lewis said. "She probably is very annoyed with it, but she always answers. Sometimes it might be, 'Desiree, I don't know,' but she'll give me her best answer to whatever she knows."
When Lewis first arrived in Starkville, she brought every small tweak or soreness to Simoneaux looking for a treatment that could help. Lewis said she had to learn to trust her trainer, which wasn't easy at first.
"I argued with her for several days about it but she ended up being right," Lewis said. "Ever since then we grew a pretty strong bond. She's been a big person who I go to, if I need anything, whether that be physically or emotionally."
Lewis is a pre-med student who is constantly reading research articles and trying to learn more about the human body. It's part of what drives her to pepper Simoneaux with questions.
"I think I know a lot about medicine and your body," Lewis added. "Obviously, she knows a lot more than me because she has a full training in it."
The freshman's medical interests began in high school. As a senior she took a class to become a certified nurses' assistant and worked at an assisted living facility. After her friends, who also planned to pursue nursing, signed up, Lewis realized that the classes offered her an opportunity to get ahead.
Students spent two days a week in a classroom setting and the rest of the week seeing patients for a hands-on learning experience. Lewis monitored vital signs, taking blood pressure measurements and listening to breathing rhythms before reporting back to the registered nurses in the facility.
"Working as a certified nursing assistant is pretty different," she said. "You have to be special kind of person to do it. It's really hard. You're dealing with a lot of stuff you don't see every day."
The skills she learned along the way still get put to good use. Lewis brought her stethoscope and blood pressure cuff to college with her and practices on her teammates. When one of them gets sick, she takes notes on their symptoms and makes sure they follow the doctors' orders.
She's even taught Kiki Edwards and Aspen Wesley how to take someone's blood pressure since they had to learn the skill for their college classes.
Lewis' focus in the medical field became clearer after both of her grandfathers were diagnosed with cancer. One is still battling an aggressive form of the disease, while the other has since passed away. Doctors struggled to identify exactly what kind of cancer he had at the time.
"My initial thought was, 'What does he have? What are his symptoms? And what kind of research can I do?' she said. "I can't figure that stuff out now, obviously. I don't know everything, but in my head nothing's impossible."
Ever since, Lewis has been invested in medical research. When she gets time away from the field and classwork, she's usually reading the latest medical journals. Cancer research is the most common subject, but she also picks up anything that might be trending or pique her curiosity, like the current COVID-19 pandemic.
A second high school class narrowed her focus to pediatric cancer research. Lewis said she's always loved being around kids, so once she knew cancer was her favorite research topic it was a simple as putting the two things together.
She took a class that focused on early childhood education. Lewis taught kindergarten classes and worked in a day care with two- and three-year-olds.
"It was really just for me to get experience with being around kids, understanding how they develop, how they think and how to approach them and better understand them, because they can't really express how they feel exactly how an adult could," she said. "That really showed me that this is what I want to do, is work with kids. No matter what, that's what I want to do."
When the Bulldogs wrap up Sunday home games at Nusz Park, dozens of children pour onto the diamond to run the bases with the players. Many of them have built relationships with specific players and run with those individuals every time. Lewis hasn't found one to take a lap with just yet, but she leans on the dugout railing and watches every time.
"I think it brings a lot of joy to me," she said. "I love the kids. I love seeing them happy. I think it's a different kind of happy for me, watching kids be happy and grow up."
She hopes her future career will give more children a chance to grow up happy and healthy.
STARKVILLE – The first tiny needle slid into Desiree Lewis' knee. Macy Simoneaux, Mississippi State's athletic trainer, carefully inserted a few more into the surrounding muscles and her shin.
Lewis was fascinated. She kept trying to play with the needles, whether she was supposed to or not. She could feel one needle in her shin touching her bone and wanted her teammates that were in the training room to come see for themselves.
The rest of the Bulldog softball team wasn't interested, but Lewis and Simoneaux talked over that needle the same way they discussed any treatments Lewis was interested in.
"Every day I have a million questions for Macy, just because I'm honestly interested," Lewis said. "She probably is very annoyed with it, but she always answers. Sometimes it might be, 'Desiree, I don't know,' but she'll give me her best answer to whatever she knows."
When Lewis first arrived in Starkville, she brought every small tweak or soreness to Simoneaux looking for a treatment that could help. Lewis said she had to learn to trust her trainer, which wasn't easy at first.
"I argued with her for several days about it but she ended up being right," Lewis said. "Ever since then we grew a pretty strong bond. She's been a big person who I go to, if I need anything, whether that be physically or emotionally."
Lewis is a pre-med student who is constantly reading research articles and trying to learn more about the human body. It's part of what drives her to pepper Simoneaux with questions.
"I think I know a lot about medicine and your body," Lewis added. "Obviously, she knows a lot more than me because she has a full training in it."
The freshman's medical interests began in high school. As a senior she took a class to become a certified nurses' assistant and worked at an assisted living facility. After her friends, who also planned to pursue nursing, signed up, Lewis realized that the classes offered her an opportunity to get ahead.
Students spent two days a week in a classroom setting and the rest of the week seeing patients for a hands-on learning experience. Lewis monitored vital signs, taking blood pressure measurements and listening to breathing rhythms before reporting back to the registered nurses in the facility.
"Working as a certified nursing assistant is pretty different," she said. "You have to be special kind of person to do it. It's really hard. You're dealing with a lot of stuff you don't see every day."
The skills she learned along the way still get put to good use. Lewis brought her stethoscope and blood pressure cuff to college with her and practices on her teammates. When one of them gets sick, she takes notes on their symptoms and makes sure they follow the doctors' orders.
She's even taught Kiki Edwards and Aspen Wesley how to take someone's blood pressure since they had to learn the skill for their college classes.
Lewis' focus in the medical field became clearer after both of her grandfathers were diagnosed with cancer. One is still battling an aggressive form of the disease, while the other has since passed away. Doctors struggled to identify exactly what kind of cancer he had at the time.
"My initial thought was, 'What does he have? What are his symptoms? And what kind of research can I do?' she said. "I can't figure that stuff out now, obviously. I don't know everything, but in my head nothing's impossible."
Ever since, Lewis has been invested in medical research. When she gets time away from the field and classwork, she's usually reading the latest medical journals. Cancer research is the most common subject, but she also picks up anything that might be trending or pique her curiosity, like the current COVID-19 pandemic.
A second high school class narrowed her focus to pediatric cancer research. Lewis said she's always loved being around kids, so once she knew cancer was her favorite research topic it was a simple as putting the two things together.
She took a class that focused on early childhood education. Lewis taught kindergarten classes and worked in a day care with two- and three-year-olds.
"It was really just for me to get experience with being around kids, understanding how they develop, how they think and how to approach them and better understand them, because they can't really express how they feel exactly how an adult could," she said. "That really showed me that this is what I want to do, is work with kids. No matter what, that's what I want to do."
When the Bulldogs wrap up Sunday home games at Nusz Park, dozens of children pour onto the diamond to run the bases with the players. Many of them have built relationships with specific players and run with those individuals every time. Lewis hasn't found one to take a lap with just yet, but she leans on the dugout railing and watches every time.
"I think it brings a lot of joy to me," she said. "I love the kids. I love seeing them happy. I think it's a different kind of happy for me, watching kids be happy and grow up."
She hopes her future career will give more children a chance to grow up happy and healthy.
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