Courage To Come Back: Winner of Youth Award lives on as an inspiration to her sister

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – For the past six weeks, we have been sharing remarkable stories of survival and tenacity; but for every happy ending, there are countless others who come close but don’t quite make it.

We wrap up this year’s Courage To Come Back series with one of those stories.

“I don’t think anyone knew how much she was going through,” says Sadie Lourenco, talking about her twin sister Lindsey, who passed away last month after a 5.5-year battle with cancer.

The 18-year-old from Surrey had just found about she was up for a Courage To Come Back award in the youth category when she fell into the coma she would never come out of.

“It’s very bittersweet because it’s something that we wish she could be here for, but it’s a way for us to show more people about how wonderful my sister is, because I don’t want anyone to ever forget,” says Sadie.

Lindsey was 12 and on a family vacation in Portugal when she first became sick.

“When we got there, she got a fever, she was losing weight, she wasn’t eating and finally near the end of the trip, a doctor took her blood test and they found out that she had leukemia.”

Despite that, Lindsey and her sister became tireless fundraisers for a cure and to help families of those with cancer.

“She saw how I went through it, and [how] my parents went through it, and she wanted to make our lives easier… so she wants to do that for other families also,” she explains.

“We donated to Children’s Hospital and cancer research, mostly for oncology.. and also their families, because we’ve been involved in lots of family groups and seen how it affects everybody, so a lot of the money we have raised, we put to foundations that help families.”

Dairy Queen even adopted one of Lindsey’s ideas and turned it into a national campaign called Lindsey’s Cakes for Miracles, where one dollar from every cake sold goes to the Children’s Miracle Network. In 2011, the charity recognized Lindsey as its Champion Child for all her fundraising efforts.

Sadie says it’s part of a legacy she couldn’t be more proud of, but that’s not how she will remember her sister most.

“Everyone remembers her smile and that’s what I want people to know. It was just… it was so genuine; you could feel it.”

Even though Lindsey is no longer among us, her story continues to inspire, and she will always be with Sadie.

“Something that Lindsey and me both shared was dance. We both absolutely loved dance and when she wasn’t able to anymore, she was devastated, but she became my biggest fan aftewards. She would always come and she would dance through me instead.”

On Sadie’s left forearm is a tattoo of a large sunflower, along with her sister’s name in ornate script. “She’s always going to dance with me, no matter what. And now she can do it with me and not just have to watch me.”

News1130 is a proud sponsor of the Courage to Come Back Awards, which are being handed out Thursday night.