Darrell Waltrip February Hometown Hero: Lu and Gabe Sipos

Darrell Waltrip honored Lu Sipos as February’s Hometown Hero for her work in creating the comforting Chemo Duck.

One week before his first birthday, on Christmas Day 2002, Lu Sipos’ son Gabe was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma.  He learned how to walk and talk while enduring 30 days of 9 months of Chemotherapy treatments and numerous surgeries.  Like many parents, Lu found herself feeling lost during this time, unsure of what her role on her son’s medical team looked like.

“Somebody left a stuffed duck as a gift for Gabe and I decided to turn it into a pal for him, I thought it would make him smile and break the ice with the doctors,” shared Lu.  “I took the duck home along with a length of clean chemo tube, and a tiny pair of hospital pajamas.  Armed only with Wonder Web I set about turning the duck into a Chemo patient too (I am not able to sew at all!!)  I created a super Hero!  All the doctors and nurses treated Chemo Duck before they treated Gabe….suddenly he knew what to expect and had a little control over his situation.  The doctor could only treat Gabe if Chemo Duck went first.  We roll played through some of his issues at home and even made a shoe box MRI machine so we could roll play new situations.”

10 years later Gabe’s Chemo Duck, which operates under the Gabe’s My Heart umbrella, a 501c3 created for the program, has served close to 150 hospitals in the U.S and U.K, has distributed close to 25,000 Chemo Ducks.  Gabe’s My Heart collaborates with child life specialists and medical professionals to provide education and comfort to children and families going through cancer treatment.  They also continue to develop therapeutic tools for the Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program to enable hospital staff and parents to better prepare children for chemotherapy and eliminate the fear of the unknown.

In addition to the cuddly, stuffed yellow duck dressed in blue hospital scrubs, the Chemo Duck Program includes educational support material to help children and families understand their health situation. Every Chemo Duck comes with an educational coloring book, a DVD explaining the program and access to an abundance of information to help families organize their lives during an extremely difficult time.

For her work with Gabe’s Chemo Duck, and for the thousands of lives her mission has touched, Lu is being honored as a Darrell Waltrip Automotive Hometown Hero.

“My Husband and I received such an outpouring of love and generosity when Gabe was diagnosed with cancer, I knew instantly that I would spend my life paying forward this kindness. My work keeps me close to the community I love.
It is truly humbling to be considered a hero for my work but I consider the children I serve the real heroes. I have learned so much over the last 10 years from the children and families I serve.  I am truly blessed to be able to do the work I do.”

As a part of Lu’s DWA Hometown Hero award, a $500 donation, which will provide more than a dozen ducks, will be made to Gabe’s Chemo Duck.

Darrell Waltrip Automotive’s Hometown Heroes is a monthly event honoring local heroes making a difference.  To learn more or to nominate your hero visit www.DarrellWaltrip.com/ hero.

About Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program
Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program is committed to providing huggable hope to children living with cancer. Since 2004, we have given more than 20,000 Chemo Ducks to kids across the country with the help of generous donors.  For more information about Gabe’s Chemo Duck Program visit chemoduck.org.