Fraternity members become heroes for little girl in hospital

(Facebook/UCLASAE)

Frat boys are notorious for their hard partying ways, but a group of fraternity brothers from UCLA have shed that image after going above and beyond to brighten the days of one very special little girl with cancer.

Lexi Brown is only 12 years old, but she’s already been fighting cancer for two years, reports NBC. To fight the recurring tumours in her lungs, Lexi was prescribed chemotherapy pills. When they turned her hair white, Lexi’s mom Lisa rushed her to the doctor, who discovered that her heart was only functioning at 15 per cent. Lexi was immediately airlifted to Mattel Children’s Hospital on the UCLA campus.

The hospital sits across from the university’s “fraternity row.” To pass the time one day, Lexi and her mom posted a sign in the window asking for pizza.

It wasn’t long before five guys from the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house walked into the room with a pizza — and a dozen roses. They also had a guitar, and proceeded to sing to Lexi.

“They introduced themselves and said, ‘We saw your sign; we’re here,’” Lisa, Lexi’s mom, told NBC. “They stayed for a half an hour, they sang this song and I started bawling my head off. I’m like, 'I can’t believe these people are here for my child.’”

It would still be a nice story if the generous camaraderie had ended there, but the 18-to-24-year-old guys from across the road were far from done. They arranged visits for Lexi with members of the soccer, football, rowing, swimming and tennis teams. The boys themselves also continued to visit, with someone from the SAE fraternity visiting her almost every day.

Then came the holidays, and like every year, the brothers from across the road lit up their frat house. Except this year the words on the roof, clearly visible from Lexi’s hospital bedroom, spelled out her name in bright, twinkling lights.

The frat house lit up for the holidays, with Lexi’s name on the roof (Twitter/Team_Lexi_Brown)

Lisa says the SAE boys have made all the difference during this difficult time.

“It has just been a joy in a time when we could have just sat there and cried, but we didn’t. I can’t even tell you,” Lisa told NBC.

“I never knew that so many young adults had it in them.”

Lexi is now out of hospital and back home, and whole team of doctors are looking for a way to treat her cancer without endangering her heart.

To keep on eye on Lexi’s progess, visit her family’s Twitter or her GoFundMe page.