Gators Will Have Mama Spice in Mind at Link to Pink Meet
Thursday, February 26, 2015 | Gymnastics, Scott Carter
VIDEO: A preview of Gators' Link to Pink meet from GatorVision's Shelby Granath.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – They have the kind of intuitive relationship that a mother and her only child develop naturally through the years.
Whether it's from the voice on the other end of the phone or detected through body language at a family function, Gators gymnast Rachel Spicer and her mom Mickie have an undeniable connection.
They are like tag-team partners in the game of life.
It was Mickie who introduced Rachel to gymnastics as a preschooler. There was no pressure. Mickie's only advice to her daughter: “Go have fun.”
Rachel took the message to heart. She enjoyed it so much that she kept training long after friends and competitors called it quits. As Rachel blossomed into a skilled competitor, Mickie decided to change career paths.
She took a job at Metroplex Gymnastics where Rachel trained near their home in Highland Village, Texas, about 30 miles northwest of Dallas.
“We were there so much that it made sense,'' Mickie said.
But Mickie wasn't one of those overzealous parents watching her kid's every move or offering advice to Rachel's coaches if she saw something she didn't like. Instead, she focused on her job at the gym and let Rachel dictate how much time and energy she committed to the sport.
By the time Rachel finished high school, college coaches knew all about her. She signed with the Gators and enrolled early as a 17-year-old. For the past four seasons, Rachel has been a steady contributor on the vault, balance beam and floor exercise, helping the Gators win back-to-back national championships.
Mickie and husband Bill, who recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, were in the stands for both title celebrations. They are almost always in the stands when Rachel competes.
They made the trip from Texas to Florida in mid-January for reasons other than to watch the Gators face Auburn in their home opener at the O'Connell Center.
Following Florida's win, Rachel met her parents at their hotel. They had something they needed to tell her.
And then they told her.
“I had this feeling,'' Rachel said. “Before she even told me I started to cry. I know what you're going to say, but I don't want you to say it.”
Mickie said she had breast cancer.
*****
Less than a month earlier Mickie, 59, went in for her annual checkup the way she has done for years. She had a mammogram performed and went home, unaware her life was about to change in a few days with one phone call.
She eats healthy, stays active, and with Bill away much of the time for his job as an engineer, keeps company during the week with family, friends and feisty companion Maggie, her 14-year-old miniature schnauzer she gave to Rachel as a gift on her sixth birthday.
In other words, Mickie Spicer's life is full.
“She is just super sweet, this little 4-foot-10 lady who's blonde and adorable,'' Rachel said. “She is one of those moms where people say, 'I just love your mom.' If I have friends over, she is always the one that doesn't just have snacks but cooks meals. She loves planning parties and planning events.”
When the doctor's office called to tell Mickie the mammogram discovered a tumor in her breast, the initial fear and shock from being told you could have cancer overwhelmed her.
Additional tests revealed the tumor was cancerous – they told her Stage 3 – and that it had spread to her lymph nodes.
Over the next several days, her emotions bounced up and down.
She immediately thought of Rachel's senior year, the final season of her gymnastics career. The plan was to be at every home meet and wherever the Gators travel in the postseason.
“In my first appointment with my oncologist, I told him I have two goals, the first one is to be cured, and the second one is to be able to continue to be a part of my daughter's senior year with her college sport,'' Mickie said.
That remained the plan earlier this month when Florida hosted Missouri. Mickie woke up on Monday morning of that week and went to the first of her six scheduled chemotherapy sessions. She has to go every three weeks.
However, later that week she called Rachel to say she couldn't make it. The treatment left her nauseated and weak, a harsh reminder of the challenge ahead.
Bill was out of town and Rachel was at UF preparing for the Missouri meet, concerned about her sick mom 1,000 miles away.
“It was hard,'' Rachel said. “It was literally her and the dog.”
In the weeks since Mickie's diagnosis, Gators head coach Rhonda Faehn – the first person Rachel told – and Rachel's teammates have rallied around Mama Spice, Mickie's nickname among the team.
They will again on Friday.
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Feb. 27 is a date that has meant a lot to the Spicer family since Mickie's diagnosis. The Gators' annual Link to Pink meet is Friday at the O'Connell Center.
The event is in its ninth year and raises awareness for breast cancer prevention and treatment. Each year a group of breast cancer survivors join the Gators and form a human tunnel as the team is introduced.
“I've already had to cancel two,'' Mickie said. “I wasn't going to miss this one.”
Mama Spice spoke those words on Wednesday, the same day she began to notice her hair had started to fall out.
She expected the hair loss to happen from the chemotherapy, but this week's reality forced her to start thinking about a plan.
“This is the best week I've had [since chemotherapy],'' she said. “That's hard for a woman. I'm kind of faced with that decision, 'do I just go and get it shaved off, or just wear a hat for a little while?' “
On Thursday, Bill flew home from California where he has spent the week on his job. They plan to board a plane on Friday morning and head to Florida. The only concern is that potential inclement weather doesn't cancel their flight.
She can't control the weather. Or how chemotherapy makes her feel. But Mickie Spicer can control her outlook.
“Overall she has done really good staying positive,'' Rachel said. “The support system has been awesome.”
Mickie is just as concerned about Rachel as she is herself. When she first told her about the cancer, Mickie said the best thing Rachel could do for her is to stay focused on school and gymnastics.
Once she graduates from Florida, Rachel has already been accepted at Parker University back home to start chiropractic school next January.
Doctors told Mickie the cancer did not metastasize anywhere else in her body. The hope is that after chemotherapy and a mastectomy, she can continue to live a healthy life for many more years.
“I have my good days and I have my great days,'' she said.
She wants Friday to be one of those great days.
To honor Mickie, the Gators had “I wear pink for Mickie” T-shirts made. Rachel's special edition has “I wear pink for Mom” across the front.
Mom and daughter expect Friday night to be one they will remember forever.
“It's definitely going to hit home a lot more,'' Rachel said. “I'm pretty much going to compete for my mom. She means so much to me.”
“I've been to all the 'Link to Pink' meets the last three years,'' Mickie said. “Now I have a great appreciation for all those women who come out on the floor, all those ladies. You just don't get it unless you are living it. I have such an appreciation for all those women and what they have been through.
“I know that I will probably have tears in my eyes.”
She probably won't be the only one.
