The list of Alex Webb’s achievements is a long one. Homecoming queen, senior class president, student body treasurer and three-time all-state softball player are just a small sampling of those achievements for the Atkins High School class of 2015 graduate.
But when Alex was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia one month shy of her 3rd birthday, those types of achievements may have seemed well out of reach.
Alex received her diagnosis on Jan. 7, 2000, a few months after her parents, Darrell and Stacey Webb, had suspected something was wrong. Their daughter was tiring easily and would sleep soundly through all the cheering and noise of the Atkins High School football games that her parents, both teachers in the school system, regularly attended.
Several blood tests followed before a trip to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock provided Alex’s diagnosis. She not only was admitted to the hosptial that same day, but aggressive chemotherapy treatments were started that day, as well.
“In my gut feeling, I knew something was wrong,” Stacey recalled, “but I never expected cancer. It was a total shock.”
The Webbs received the diagnosis from the doctor, who was accompanied by a social worker.
“When the person who came in with the doctor to the conference room introduced herself as a social worker, we knew it was serious,” Darrell said.
The Webbs had something in their favor, however. Alex’s cancer was detected early.
“It was in her bone marrow but not in her blood stream yet,” Stacey said. “When it gets in your blood stream, you often have damage to other organs in your body.”
Alex went through more than two years of chemotherapy and completed a five-year treatment plan the Webbs had signed when Alex was admitted to ACH. The cancer was in remission, but getting to that point was not easy.
“She had all kinds of infections when she was in chemotherapy because her blood count would be so low,” Darrell said.
And while Alex, when diagnosed, was given a chance of survival of about 80 percent, the Webbs got to know parents of other young cancer patients, many with Alex’s diagnosis, who did not survive.
“You see that, and as parents, that’s tough,” he recalled.
With Alex cleared after five years and ordered to return for annual checkups, Stacey said, “We tried to expose her to as much normalcy as possible.” Stacey took Alex to numerous day camps that summer and involved her in activities “to make up for things she may have missed out on before.”
Of course, it was still frightening whenever Alex became ill in those first years after she was cleared. The biggest scare, Stacey said, was two years ago, when Alex was diagnosed with mononucleosis.
“Her blood counts were down, and we were in a panic. And many of the symptoms of mono are the same as for leukemia,” Stacey said.
“I really wasn’t that concerned, but I think that is because I really just didn’t process it the same way [my parents) did,” Alex recalled.
As a family, the Webbs have also been concerned about the list of long-term effects chemotherapy can have. When Alex was cleared, the Webbs learned that, for instance, a person’s cognitive abilities are likely to be affected by the treatments.
“With both of us being educators and working with students all the time, I think that really helped us to work on those types of things,” Darrell said. “But we are very blessed,” he added.
“We are blessed with her having the desire to overcome any obstacles. Alex is an overachiever, and she is always going to work harder than most students,” he said.
“I think that [desire] comes from my family and really came naturally to me,” Alex said. “I always want to do my best.”
This fall, she will attend Arkansas Tech University in Russellville with biology as her major. Her goal is to become a radiologist. Her interest in a medical-related field is a direct result of her history, she said.
“I can remember the nurses who helped me in the hospital,” Alex said, “and I have always wanted to do something to help other people.”
The decision to attend Tech means Alex is passing up a scholarship to play softball at a university elsewhere in the state.
“I really want to concentrate on the academics as I start this new chapter in my life,” she said.
While Alex passed on the athletic scholarship, she has been awarded a lengthy list of other scholarships. They include the Second Century Scholars academic scholarship from Tech, valued at $20,400 for four years if she maintains the required grade-point average; the Academic Challenge, worth $14,000, provided that requirements are met for four years; the Scott Van Hoose Memorial ($1,000); Emmy Cherry Memorial ($1,500); Jennifer Holley ($500); Tech Alumni ($1,200); Kay Bowden Memorial ($750); Kassidy Wynne Memorial ($300); and Shelter Insurance Scholarship ($2,000).
Alex looks forward to the academic challenges of the university but has other things to look forward to, as well.
“What I am probably looking forward to the most,” Alex said, “is making new friends. A lot of my friends from high school are going to different colleges except for maybe one or two.”
Plus, unlike many freshmen, she plans on living at home and is equally excited about that.
“This may not sound very nice, but I think some kids are ready to get away from their parents. I know a lot of kids like the idea of moving away and being able to do things their parents might not want them to do. I just like being around my family, and staying home will allow me to spend time with them, especially my sister, Sydney,” Alex said.
She will also be juggling her classes with a part-time job at an insurance agency in Atkins. At this point, she is unsure what activities she may become involved with at the university, but being involved was a major part of her high school days.
She reigned as homecoming queen her senior year, after being selected to the court as a maid the two previous years. And her lengthy list of achievements and awards are divided between those that speak to her obvious popularity with her fellow students and her academic accomplishments. Her list includes an even dozen academic awards, numerous offices she has held in leadership roles, membership in a half dozen organizations and playing three sports.
She also has a list of community activities with one activity, Relay for Life, holding special significance for her.
Relay for Life is the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, and at the age of 4, Alex was named honorary chair for the local Relay for Life. “Alex’s Team,” comprised of family, friends and school-district co-workers, was a fixture for more than a decade at the local relay, raising money for cancer research and for services provided by ACS.
“We have been so fortunate to have had so many people involved in Alex’s journey,” Stacey said. “Her experiences in the community and school have all molded her into the person that she has become today. She has come so far and accomplished so much since the day that she was diagnosed. We are very proud of her.”
Stacey recalled her unexpected reaction to one of those accomplishments.
When Alex was elected as a maid to the homecoming court her sophomore year, she and other members of the court were introduced at the homecoming pep rally. Each member of the court was escorted by a member of the football team across the gymnasium floor.
“I’m not an emotional person, I would say. But it hit me when she walked out. When they escorted her down, it just hit me. ‘Oh my gosh. Look at everything she’s come through, and here she is,’ I thought. The emotions were just very overwhelming, thinking I didn’t even know she would be here, and then for this …. It was very overwhelming.”