Live Like Abby to host its first Family Fest at middle school
Family of young girl who had brain tumor honors her spirit
When the brain tumor caused her to lose some of the fine motor skills on the right side of her body, Abby Wujcik learned to write with her left hand.
“And she did it well, better than most people write with their dominant hand,” said her father Kevin Wujcik. “She was determined. She was always willing to fight no matter what she was up against.”
Abby lost her battle in 2013, at age 8, but her family is honoring her by carrying on her fighting spirit.
On Saturday, they will host the first Live Like Abby Family Fest noon to 4 p.m. at Oak Lawn Hometown Middle School, 5345 W. 99th St., Oak Lawn.
There will be face painting, games, tricycle races, food and raffles. In addition, Dr. Rishi Lulla, on staff at Lurie Children's Hospital, will speak at 1 p.m. about pediatric brain cancer.
Proceeds will go to the Live Like Abby foundation, an arm of the John McNicholas Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, which raises funds for pediatric brain cancer research.
Last year, We Are Abby's Army became Live Like Abby when it joined forces with the Beverly-based John McNicholas foundation. There are two other arms in the alliance: Live Like Finn and Live Like Leah. Together, the groups hope to increase funding for pediatric cancer and change the federal government's system for funding research.
“In a crowd, single voices don't carry very far,” Wujcik said. “But if that entire crowd starts chanting together, things get heard and things get changed.”
Currently, 4 percent of all federal money allotted for cancer research goes to pediatric forms of the disease, Wujcik said. Many of the treatments children endure are the same given to adults, he said.
The John McNicholas foundation has partially funded a million dollar medical research grant given to a team of doctors that work with both Lurie and Northwestern hospitals, Wujcik said.
“It has already granted $500,000 of that and we're working toward funding the remaining portion,” he said.
“By joining together and getting all of our voices saying the same thing and working toward the same goal, this is how we're going to make a difference,” Wujcik said.
Amy McNicholas, who lost her son John to pediatric brain cancer when he was just 15, formed the John McNicholas foundation in 2011. She has been meeting with legislators to make changes to the funding scale, Wujcik said.
“We need the government's help in trying to figure out ways to fund this or figure out ways to help fund this, so other families don't have to go through what we've gone through,” Wujcik said. “It's such a rare disease and when you get down to brain cancer, there's not much money in it.”
Though brain cancer is rare, at the time Abby was diagnosed when she was 6, the Wujcik family had already lost a family friend to the same disease.
“While Abby is certainly part of the story, it's bigger than Abby and John and Finn and Leah,” Wujcik said. “There's another handful of kids I can name from our area that have gone through or are going through the same thing. It's a shame and it needs to stop. Kids should not be treated same way as an adult. (That kind of treatment) obviously doesn't work. This type of cancer, I hate to say, is basically a death sentence.”
Despite knowing the devastating odds of survival, Wujcik said the community became an extension of the family.
“Oak Lawn, Chicago Ridge, Mount Greenwood, this whole area,” he said. “Everybody's been absolutely amazing to us. Without them we couldn't be where we are. District 123 has been amazing, from Kolmar, where Abby was a student, to the staff at other schools, everyone has been great. St. Linus Men's Club has been amazing. Oak Lawn baseball, the community in general has been absolutely amazing.
“What I've found is it's really the entire South Side,” he said. “The type of people around here are pure of heart. Everybody bands together to help those in need.”
When Abby was first diagnosed, he said, the community threw a family-oriented fundraiser for them.
“We want to mimic that with this fest and have children involved. Her friends and cousins have had a hard time dealing with this. I can't even imagine at that age trying to make sense of what Abby went through,” Wujcik said. “We want to have an event where kids can be involved, paint signage, run some of the booths and games. It will be good for them.”
For more information on the Live Like Abby Family Fest, go to
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