Surprise gift drives Stacey’s resolve

By Callan Date
BEING diagnosed with cancer as a teenager just does not seem fair.
But you won’t hear Narre Warren 17-year-old Stacey Femino complaining too much about her illness.
The brave young woman continues to look on the bright side of one of the darkest hurdles she will face in her life.
And that spirit and determination was rewarded last week when Stacey was given a brand new car after hundreds of Melburnians, who heard her moving story on radio station 3AW, sent in their donations.
Stacey now has bright yellow L-plates stuck to the windscreen of her shiny new Volkswagen Beetle and is driving around the streets of Narre Warren with a smile on her face.
“It was amazing. I was just really shocked when they told me that I was getting a car,” Stacey said.
The Eumemmerring College student also got to meet Essendon star James Hird when she was presented with her new vehicle.
“It’s a very nice car. I’m on my L-plates at the moment so I have been driving with my mum,” she said.
The cheer is evident in Stacey’s voice but the last three months have been anything but cheerful.
Stacey’s life was thrown upside down in October this year when she was diagnosed with sinus and cheek cancer.
The keen basketball player, who recently played her 300th game for the Oatlanders Basketball Club, has had to stop playing due to her illness.
And school has been put on hold while Stacey prepares for the battle against the cancer.
“I finished Year 11 this year but I’m not sure what I will be doing with year 12.”
Stacey’s mother, Katrina, said her daughter had proved incredibly strong over the last few months.
“It’s hard when you see your daughter going through something like this. But she is very brave and she always has a smile on her face,” Katrina said.
Katrina said the feedback from the medical staff had been positive and the whole family was hopeful of a positive outcome.
“The support we have been getting has been great,” Katrina said.
“The Oatlanders Basketball Club, Oatlands Primary School and Eumemmerring College have all just been great,” Katrina said.