From Boston, former LFHS student Posey Connell is raising money to help find a cure for Leukemia — a fight that became personal when her older brother, Cedar, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2022.
For the past three years, Posey has watched Cedar, who attended LFHS through his junior year, struggle with chemotherapy and the aggressive treatments needed to fight the cancer. Cedar is now in remission and attending Groton School. His treatment is scheduled to end this summer.
“It was a struggle for me to have to sit back to watch my brother fight for his life. I felt so powerless,” Connell said.
Leukemia is one of the most common cancers diagnosed in kids and teenagers nationwide. According to research conducted by St. Jude, about 4,000 new Leukemia cases are diagnosed in children each year, with Acute Lymphoblastic being the most common.
Last summer, Posey began searching for ways to get involved. In July, her family participated in the “31 Miles” fundraiser.
The Connells biked, swam, or ran three miles a day in effort to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Posey said she quickly realized how good it felt to give back to an organization that helped them so greatly.
“It helped me feel powerful in a situation where I had no power,” Connell said.
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is dedicated to supporting families impacted by blood cancer. They offer education, trips, and most importantly, funding.
The organization advocates for powering innovative research, new and safer treatments, support services, and advocacy for kids. When one family member is diagnosed with cancer, the entire family feels the fear and fatigue as well.
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is there to support both the patient and the family and to ease that burden.
Posey’s mom discovered the Student Visionaries project, a fundraising competition for high school students, and from that point on, Posey and Cedar were dedicated to be nominated as representatives for New England.
Since August, they have worked on building a team of about a dozen students, including members from Lake Forest and across the East Coast. Posey also reached out to family friends from LFHS for help.
“I’ve been close with people who have cancer and seen how it affects families firsthand. One of my closest family friends passed away from cancer,” junior Cece Gordon said. “It’s hard to watch people struggle without a way to help, so when Posey asked me to join her team, it was a no brainer.”
Posey and Cedar’s original goal was to raise $350,000, but they now hope to move their goal to $500,000 to support research for less risky and more effective treatment for patients.
“Chemotherapy has lots of terrible side effects, which is what caused my brother the most pain. Funding research for better treatment to help kids go through a safer and more efficient treatment, without harming the rest of their body, is most important to us,” Connell said. “My brother went through it for almost four years, and I want to help others cut that down to two.”
After launching their campaign, ConneLLS for a Cure, and building a team, Posey and Cedar joined the Student Visionary as representatives for New England. Student Visionaries allows teens nationwide to compete to see who can raise the most money for a cure— an effort Posey and Cedar were ready to take on.
The Connells and their team have sent letters throughout Lake Forest and shared their story online as a part of their fight against blood cancer.
“I fight so that one day another little girl doesn’t have to look at her brother’s pale sickly face, powerless, thinking it’s the last time she’ll ever see him. So that one day, parents won’t have to watch their baby pass right before their eyes, knowing life will never be the same,” Connell said in her announcement of participation in Student Visionary. “For a day that another 15-year-old boy won’t be terrified to go to sleep, not knowing if he will wake up.”
