Lucy Young Field saw the Warren Central softball and baseball team dress up as minions, Clark Kent, duck hunters, Popeye the Sailor and a ninja turtle to play a Halloween themed exhibition. But the main attraction wasn’t to watch athletes play ball in their costumes, but to support a cause greater than sports.

The second annual Spooktacular Softball Game was played Thursday evening to honor former Warren Central student Gabrielle Butler, who was diagnosed with Sarcoma at the age of 17 on May 5th, 2010. Her cancer started in her liver and pancreas and spread to other parts of her body.

“I have good days and bad days pretty much,” Butler said. “I had chemotherapy radiation, blood transfusion, surgery and I’ve been paralyzed.”

The Halloween exhibition was started last year to help and honor Afton Wallace, another Warren Central student who passed from Ewing’s Sarcoma in May, and now serves to help people in the community.

Lady Vikes softball coach Dana McGivney chose to honor Butler after hearing about her fight with cancer through a friend Jessica Holly.

“I felt like Gabby would be a great person to try and help raise a little bit of money for. She’s been battling cancer for so long and she’s such a fighter,” McGivney said.

Butler felt good and was surprised to see all the people come out and support her condition. Her mother Donna Douglas, godmother Warren County Tax Assessor Angela Brown, father Milton Butler and best friend Dominique Rogers surrounded her as she was honored for the night.

“My mom and dad never left my side and my best friend is right here,” Butler said with a smile and laughter.

Milton added that family shows their support in the form of phone calls to cheer her on, which helps her through her recovery. Butler also has 20,000 Facebook friends who also post their support on her wall.

Brown said she wanted to “giver her flowers while she’s still living.”

To make the day even more special, Brown contacted 1st Class Limo out of Natchez and asked to donate a limo for the event. Owner Oscar Davis obliged and donated a stretch hummer. Butler received a police escort and Brown deeply thanks Sheriff Martin Pace and Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong for blocking off National, Washington and Clay Street and Highway 27.

Butler, who wore a tiara and a matching pink and black shirt with her mother with the slogan “tough girls fight” in-between bedazzled high heels, has been recovering from brain surgery for the past two months.

Doctors found five tumors in her brain leaving her unable to walk and lost all feeling on the left side of her body.

Two weeks ago Butler was unable to walk and was in a wheelchair.

She graduated to the assistance of a walker and now can stand on her feet and walk with a cane.

Witnessing their daughter go through cancer was tough for both Milton and Douglas

“It’s taken a lot out of her. She couldn’t enjoy high school because she was sick all the time,” Douglas said. “We spent almost a year at MD Anderson (Cancer Center) in Houston, Texas where she was first diagnosed. You could just see her just slowly not being herself.”

Milton wanted to do anything he could to take away the pain and thought about transferring the blood from his body to her, but it ultimately wasn’t an option.

“She’s a fighter,” Milton said. “All she been through, she still smiles, she still talks to me and asks me how am I doing. She always thinks about other people other than herself and that gives me a lot of strength to be with her.”

The one thing Butler found solace in during her battle was her faith.

For two years she has been apart of Believers of Faith Cancer Organization in Vicksburg, whose mission is to provide emotional, spiritual and financial to cancer survivors.

“They have done a lot and support Gabby through her whole time. They have been awesome with her,” Douglas said. “Her faith is awesome and she’s always trusted in God. That’s her slogan ‘trust and believe and God will see you through anything.’”