Georgia cancer patient, 11, adds touch to Carl Edwards' NASCAR ride

By Mike Tierney

For the AJC

Jody Lawrence was mimicking a gymnast — propped up on all fours, face toward the ceiling — at home when someone noticed a bulge in her side. In October 2007, doctors diagnosed Jody with cancer.

She was 11 and, suddenly, orphaned. Her mother had died five days earlier due to complications from diabetes. Her father had been deceased for years.

The tumor was removed and a degree of normalcy was restored: straight A’s in school, sports afterward. Then, last February, Jody complained of back pain after basketball practice with the Carson Tigers, her middle school in Greensboro, Ga. At a semi-annual oncology checkup, she learned that the cancer was back. Big-time. She had gone from low- to high-risk, a category with a survival rate of 30 to 50 percent.

“I was sad but I had to move on,” she said recently before a round of chemotherapy at the Aflac Cancer Center, part of Children’s Healthcare at Egleston.

Moving on meant doing what kids do, such as coloring. One day at the center, an outline of a stock car was handed to her, with instructions to color it. The first four crayons Jody, 13, randomly fetched were yellow, purple, red and light blue, and her imagination took over.

The splashy result was chosen over drawings by 54 other cancer-stricken youngsters as winner of the Color Carl’s Car Contest. Carl Edwards’ NASCAR ride, sponsored by Columbus-based Aflac Insurance, will race with Jody’s design in the Pep Boys Auto 500 on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Of the paint scheme, Edwards said by phone, “This will be the coolest one of the year because of how it was created.”

Aflac’s first season as Edwards’ chief financier has borne mixed results: no wins (after nine last year) but a No. 5 spot in the Sprint Cup driver standings.

Otherwise, it’s been an ideal pairing. Edwards has long targeted his charitable deeds to children. With promoting the Cancer Center, which has additional locations at Hughes Spalding and Scottish Rite, he goes the extra mile — no matter how low on fuel he might be. He intends to donate his winnings from Sunday’s race to the Cancer Center.

Jody, who lives with an older sister, spends one of every three weeks at Egleston undergoing intense chemo. Fortuitous timing will permit her to serve as an honorary pit crew member for Edwards at AMS.

“It seems like it would be a fun first job,” Jody mused about unscrewing lug nuts. But it will not be a career; her aspirations veer toward medical scientist or pediatric oncologist.

Jody’s affliction, neuroblastoma, originates in the adrenal gland or in tissue related to the gland. It primarily preys on infants and toddlers. Her first bout of cancer was localized, allowing for surgery as a solution, said her oncologist, Dr. Howard Katzenstein.

Because the cancer has since spread, Katzenstein is opting for innovative therapy involving a special radioactive drug and transplanting bone marrow removed from Jody back into her. Only 100 to 200 youngsters in the nation have been similarly treated, according to Katzenstein.

“She has a great attitude,” he said. “She just goes about her business.”

On Sunday, in a car bearing the imprint of his newest fan, Edwards will go about his business of qualifying for the Chase to the NASCAR Sprint Cup. With only two races left until the final field of a dozen drivers is set, he will avoid risky business on the AMS oval.

“The goal this season did not involve a number of wins,” he said. “My goal is the win the championship. More important than anything [for now] is to be in the Chase.”

During the race, Edwards will have a lot of names on his mind. His helmet will sport the signatures of all color contest entrants, notably Jody’s, and his first spin this year down victory lane would be welcome.

“Here’s a kid who’s probably gone through more in her short life than anyone else will ever go through,” he said. “To be able to have her there — with her spirit — will be special. If we can get her a win, that would be extra-special.”