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Lacey doesn’t consider herself handicapped. She is on the DU cheerleading team, she pole vaults and exercises regularly.
Hardly anyone notices that Henderson has only one real leg. Her right leg was amputated when she was ten to eliminate cancer, and she now wears a prosthesis.
“This has enhanced my life and I have so many more options now,” says Henderson.
At the age of nine Henderson noticed a pain in her knee, but dismissed it as a growing pain from being an athletic child involved in sports.
She was later diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a soft tissue cancer that typically attacks muscles, fat, fibrous tissue, blood vessels and other supporting tissue of the body, after a MRI revealed a tumor hidden beneath her knee cap the size of a light bulb.
She underwent chemotherapy, which killed a small amount of cancer present in her lungs, but failed to destroy the cancer cells present in her knee. As she and doctors discussed the options for a full recovery as well as a full life, they decided the only feasible option was the loss of her leg.
Three days later, Henderson’s right leg was amputated above the knee.
Adjusting to her new mechanical leg, Henderson went on living her life as any other kid. She has been involved in a variety of sports since that time, including cheerleading, skiing, snowboarding, volleyball and rock climbing.
After being inspired by the movie “Bring It On,” Henderson enrolled in gymnastics classes and went out for the cheerleading squad for Regis Jesuit High School, in Aurora, Colo., where she attended.
“My parents have always been very encouraging of being involved in sport, so they told me I’d do great, but I later found out they were actually terrified when I went out for the team,” said Henderson.
She made the team and competed in cheerleading during high school, but was hesitant to try out for the DU squad. Henderson decided she would rather regret trying than never knowing, and to her surprise once again, she joined the DU cheerleading squad in 2007.
Beyond cheering, Henderson is involved in pole vaulting thanks to a dare from her father that she would be unable to vault over 2 feet. After practice, she can now vault over 5.5 feet, and that dare has now launched her toward a new goal.
Henderson is training to qualify for the 2012 Disabled Olympics in London, as well as working in partnership with the National Sports Center for the Disabled and their team, Alpine Ski Racing, to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Russia.
Four years ago, Henderson was selected by Amputees in Hollywood, an organization that works to ensure the proper portrayal of amputees in the media, to attend Comic Con (a convention typically for graphic novels) as the “Grindhouse” girl, famous for having a machine gun as a leg.
“They needed someone who could support themselves in a 5-inch heel and a machine gun, and I could do it,” says Henderson.
Henderson, who is studying Spanish with a minor in French, was officially declared cured in September. After graduation, she plans to train for the Olympic qualifications as well as work on her own non-profit organization intended to aid young amputees.
“This year has been a turning point,” says Henderson. “I feel like a whole person now.
