Lauren Hill has not given up the fight against her inoperable brain condition that will take her life by January. The college freshman from Indiana will have the opportunity to play basketball for the school she committed to last October, Mount St. Joseph University in Cincinnati, as one of her final acts on Earth.
Hill also has launched a basketball-themed challenge called #Layup4Lauren to help find a cure for her brain disease, Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), and she has called out one of the biggest names in the NBA - Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James.
Hill struggles with dizziness and can only shoot with her non-dominant hand when she plays basketball these days. To complete the #Layup4Lauren challenge, James must spin around five times and make a layup with his non-dominant hand. If he makes it, he must challenge another person. If he misses, he must give a $10 donation to The Cure Starts Now.
Hill and her Mount St. Joseph's coach Dan Benjamin also challenged Spud Webb, Becky Hammon (the NBA's first female coach for the San Antonio Spurs), the Dallas Mavericks, and her high school basketball coach from Lawrenceburg, Indiana. They also included Cincinnati Bengals players Andy Whitworth and Andy Dalton.
The tumor caused by DIPG grows quickly and incapacitates the nervous system, according to The Cure Starts Now Foundation. It is one of the most resistant cancers to chemotherapy and primarily affects children.
Hill will play in her first and final game for Mount St. Joseph on Nov. 2. The NCAA allowed the school to open its season early against Hiram College, instead of Nov. 15, so Hill could take part. The game sold out in less than an hour and will be played at Xavier's Cintas Center.
The Indiana Pacers already honored Lauren as an "honorary benchwarmer" at the team's home game on Oct. 10. Hill also met with WNBA star Tamika Catching from the Indiana Fever.
The Cure Starts Now Foundation fights to find a cure for children with brainstem glioma. The cure for pediatric brain cancer could provide medical advancements to cure other cancers in adults and children, according to the foundation.
The #Layup4Lauren challenge could become the new ALS Ice Bucket Challenge of the winter. The Ice Bucket Challenge went viral on social media between July and August 2014. In the United States, the ALS Association reported that the organization had received more than $100 million in donations during that time span, compared to $2.8 million at the same time in 2013.
