Inspiring Strength: Since being diagnosed with leukemia in eighth grade, junior Carlie Foutch continues to value things most people take for granted and have a positive impact on those around her

Junior Carlie Foutch has three lucky numbers. Eleven because that’s her basketball jersey number, 07 — “not 7, but 07” — because she was born in 2007 and 13 because she was 13-years-old when the doctors caught her leukemia early.

Lucky is a word that has a special meaning to Carlie. Determined, caring, wicked smart — and maybe a little stubborn — are how her family sees her. Though Carlie has spent three years in and out of the hospital attending online school, undergoing and recovering from treatment and being forced to take a break from playing basketball, she remains clever and kind and has returned to in-person school this year at East.

On the evening of the Homecoming game, Carlie was decked out in goddess braids, light makeup and her shoulderless black dress in preparation to walk down the track during halftime of the game. It was only her fifth day at East, but she was nominated to be an honorary Homecoming court candidate and was announced with the senior candidates. 

“She came home from the game so excited and perky but yet she was tired,” Carlie’s mother Misty Kramer said.

Carlie oftentimes uses a wheelchair to get from place to place to conserve energy. Going to school — something most teenagers take for granted — has been Carlie’s wish ever since her first online class.

“She was so happy just to be in school that she wasn’t worried about whether people would welcome her because she’s in a wheelchair and you don’t see that all the time,” Carlie’s uncle and psychology teacher Brett Kramer said. “I don’t think she was thinking about that at all. She was focused on, ‘I get to go to school. I’m out of the hospital and I feel good enough that I get to go do what a 16-year-old is supposed to be doing on the weekdays.’”

Misty says that after all she’s been through, Carlie has become “wise beyond her years.”

“If [her siblings are] arguing over something, Carlie is very mature,” Misty said. “She’s like, ‘Look, you guys need to stop because I’m sick. There’s so much more important things in life than all this fighting.’”

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In fall 2020, Carlie tested positive for COVID and spent two weeks cooped up in her room. But after quarantining, instead of feeling better, one of her hands swelled up and she had a fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit. 

“I remember very clearly on Christmas Eve that year she was with me because her mom was working,” Carlie’s grandmother and former nurse practitioner Dianne Kramer said. “She was making cookies and she was so weak she didn’t feel like she could stand up.”

Days later, Carlie was taken to the emergency room in Belleville where the doctors did blood work and a bone marrow biopsy. After the results showed Carlie had leukemia, she was rushed to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri so additional tests could be performed.

Misty and Carlie’s step-father Ryan Kramer stayed with Carlie as the doctors started treatment. Ryan returned home from Children’s Mercy after a week and told Dianne what he believed was good news from the doctors.

“What my son heard was, ‘Yes, Carlie has leukemia. She’s going to be in the hospital for a month, but this is the best kind to have,’” Dianne said. “Well, my son didn’t hear correctly.”

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Carlie was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia — a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes a large number of abnormal blood cells. She spent the spring semester of her eighth grade year in and out of Children’s Mercy — about a three-hour drive from her home in Belleville — receiving aggressive chemotherapy treatment leaving her sick to her stomach with terrible headaches and drowsiness. Carlie would feel the same fatigue a teenager feels when they’re woken up by their mom to go to school after only two hours of sleep — but constantly.

She’d spend a month in the hospital, 10 days at home in Belleville, back to the hospital for a month and then 10 more days at home. Carlie also missed her eighth grade graduation because she was at the hospital.

In the meantime, the doctors looked for a donor so Carlie could undergo a bone marrow transplant in order to clean up any residual cancer hiding after chemotherapy.

She spent her time at the hospital doing crafts, art projects, watching mystery shows with Misty on Lifetime Movie Network and reading books — she owns Angie Thomas’s “The Hate U Give,” “Concrete Rose” and “On the Come Up.”

“She loves listening to music,” Misty said. “She plays the ukulele. She loves hanging out with her siblings and catching up with old friends. She loves drawing, painting, arts, crafts. You name it. She’s very talented.”

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In June 2021, the doctors found a donor.

After the bone marrow transplant, Carlie remained at Children’s Mercy for about two months to recover. But a few months later, she relapsed. 

Instead of immediately receiving chemotherapy for the second time, Carlie chose to partake in minimal radiation treatment to spend time with friends and family and participate in the activities she loves — starting with sports.

Over the years, Carlie has played softball, volleyball, cheered and danced, but her favorite sport by far is basketball.

“I’ve loved basketball my whole entire life,” Carlie said. “That’s why I say I’ve been practicing since I was two.”

When she was old enough in third grade, Carlie started playing basketball for her elementary school team. While undergoing treatment, she had to put the sport on pause, but she continues to shoot hoops whenever she can.

“She’s like a gnat in basketball,” Dianne said. “A gnat is very pesky and you swing around at it, but it doesn’t go away and it comes at you another way.”

Carlie’s defensive prowess — according to Dianne — and ability to shoot with both her left and right hand make her stand out in a crowd — even catching the eye of the coaches of the Los Angeles Sparks WNBA team.

For her Make-a-Wish in July 2022, Carlie traveled to California to meet the Sparks. She attended one of the team’s morning practices, shot a few baskets on the court — impressing the coaches — and received a Nneka Ogwunike jersey in front of the crowd televised on the big screen. The reception ended with a standing ovation.

“To see her that happy was great in itself,” Misty said. “She really loved the experience and was bragging about the players. She took lots of pictures with them, but I think her favorite part was just being on that basketball court with them.”

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After spending the past year with Carlie receiving treatment in Kansas City — her longest hospital stay being almost 100 days — and making the occasional commute to Belleville, Carlie and Misty officially moved to Prairie Village so that Carlie could start chemotherapy again. In November of that year, Carlie had her second bone marrow transplant.

About a month ago, she relapsed for the second time, and the doctors have shifted her treatment from cure to comfort.

Carlie’s first day at East was Sept. 25 — the Monday of Homecoming week. According to Misty, Carlie enjoyed spirit week, the game and her second high school dance — ending the night watching the movie “Missing” with her date.

“The extra great part was her first week being homecoming week,” Misty said. “It was an extra pick-me-up for her. It’s very enjoyable to see her so happy and have so much fun after all this time.”

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Carlie grew up in a seven-person household in Belleville — a city with the same population as East. She has six siblings — four share the same mom and two share the same dad.

She’s gone to the Renaissance Festival with her 19-year-old sister Chasity and been “treated” by her 4-year-old brother “Dr.” Cooper. She’s had her makeup done for Homecoming by her 17-year-old sister Caitlynn and stayed up until midnight on her birthday and her 16-year-old sister Maria’s birthday so they could be the first ones to wish each other “Happy Birthday.” 

Even when she was in the hospital, Carlie made sure to not only check up on all her siblings, but also her parents, grandparents, friends and great aunts.

One day, she asked Dianne to ask her sisters — Carlie’s great aunts — what they would like because she wanted to get them a present that would mean a lot to them. 

“They’re her great aunts,” Dianne said. “That’s normally somebody that kids don’t pay any attention to. But she loves these sisters of mine as much as she loves me and wanted to do something special for them.”

And according to Dianne, her great aunts reciprocate Carlie’s love. They traveled four hours from Belleville to watch Carlie be announced on the field during halftime of the Homecoming game, and when the proceedings ended after 20 minutes, they hopped back in the car and drove the four hours back because they needed to be home the next day.

Everyone around Carlie notices her caring and genuine personality. Chasity and Carlie’s friend Keirra Bates both say that while Carlie was undergoing treatment, she would always take the time and effort to ask them how they were doing.

“I pick her up from school and I’m packing up her wheelchair and she’s in the vehicle and she’s like, ‘How was your day mom? I missed you. I love you mom,’” Misty said. “She doesn’t just say it to get something. She says it because she means it.”

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Carlie enjoys going to the same school Brett teaches at, and Brett is touched by the kindness of his students.

“It makes me a little emotional because she’s been through so much that few go through and so young,” Brett said. “I’m so happy for her and I’m so moved by how welcoming the student body has been.”

Carlie is excited to be back to in-person schooling after years of online school while she was in the hospital. According to Misty, when Carlie is determined to do something, she works hard to reach that goal. And one thing she’s determined to do is learn as much as she can.

“I love learning,” Carlie said. “Some people don’t realize how privileged they are to be in school because there are some areas around the world that don’t have schools where kids can learn, meet other kids, socialize and play sports.”

Carlie also enjoys writing — she’s written a novel titled “Finding Myself” about her journey after her diagnosis and life in general.

Though Carlie has a diverse set of hobbies, it’s her dream to live in California, play for the WNBA — specifically the Sparks — and pursue carpentry on the side.

“Even when things feel like they’re impossible, even though I found out that there may not really be a cure this time around, I’m just praying and hoping that God gives me a miracle and lets me live,” Carlie said. “I’ve fought long and hard, and I don’t want to stop fighting.”