Local student returns to class a warrior following battle with cancer

LEE’S SUMMIT, Mo. (KCTV) - A local third grader returned to the classroom this year to a surprise welcome following a 2-year battle with cancer.

Lottie, 8, proudly rang her chemo bell leading up to the new school year. A triumph those at Voy Spears Junior Elementary School in Lee’s Summit, part of the Blue Springs R-IV School District, were just as proud of as they lined the halls to celebrate on Friday, Aug. 30.

Cheers of “Lottie, Lottie, Lottie!” filled the air to make for a touching moment for the child and her family.

“I didn’t know anybody in the school knew me that well,” Lottie said.

It was an experience she could only describe as overwhelming. Her peers held handmade signs, some in purple and gold - Lottie’s favorite colors - as her teachers wore ‘Love for Lottie’ shirts.

“It’s so wonderful to have a school family that has taken us under their wing and has been there the whole time,” said Cassie Rychlewski, Lottie’s mother.

Rychlewski said her daughter was diagnosed with Pre-B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the child’s last week of kindergarten.

“It felt like we were living a nightmare we couldn’t wake up from.”

A nightmare Lottie refused to accept, choosing instead to remain positive throughout treatment.

“She was so strong and resilient the whole time that it really just gave us the strength to keep fighting with her,” Rychlewski said.

Two years and two months later, Lottie is cancer-free and back in school--now a third grader.

“Obviously, our kids are here to learn,” said Jennifer Ward, the elementary school’s principal. “We want to teach them the academics, but this is what it’s about. It’s about the social aspect of supporting each other.”

Lottie returns to school this year as a young warrior with a support system that knows no bounds. She is now the fourth student at the elementary school to have battled and beaten cancer.

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