Former cancer patient raises champion hog, more than $30K for Children’s of Mississippi
Published on Monday, March 24, 2025
By: Annie Oeth, aoeth@umc.edu
Photos By: Melanie Thortis/UMMC Communications
Iva Lindsey knows a thing or two about championships. She is a champion, having beaten stage 4 germ cell cancer, and she’s raised one, a 281-pound Chester hog she auctioned in the Dixie National Livestock Show Sale of Champions to benefit Children’s of Mississippi.
The hog, Chester Girl, went for $36,000, which included the winning $20,000 bid plus $16,000 in additional donations.
The championship win followed months of caring for the hog on her family’s farm in Sidon.
“I fed her marshmallows and gave her lots of love,” she said.
“Nicole and I both grew up raising and showing livestock, and we wanted to pass that tradition to Iva,” said her father, Lake Lindsey. “This was her first time to win junior champion, which is an achievement. There are 19 hogs in the Sale of Junior Champions out of 1,000.”
Iva’s medical journey began when the Lindseys felt a lump on her back in 2016. They took her to the Children’s of Mississippi Emergency Department. After some tests, Iva Beth was diagnosed with stage 4 germ cell cancer.
After chemotherapy and numerous surgeries to remove tumors in spots including her lower spine, adrenal gland, abdomen and brain, Iva Beth had three stem cell transplants at the University of Mississippi Medical Center to restore her own blood-forming stem cells. She received radiation treatment at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas when she relapsed in 2017, but most of Iva’s care was provided by Children’s of Mississippi.
“Anything we can do to support Children’s of Mississippi, we will do,” Nicole Lindsey said. “It is and always will be a special place for us.”
“I remember Iva very well,” said Dr. Michael Morris, associate professor for general pediatric surgery. “She did very well with treatment and surgery and is now in remission. Her family and our team became quite close as we all fought to beat her cancer. Iva is Mississippi strong!”
Morris still has the rubber bracelet with the hashtag #fightbabyfight that the Children’s of Mississippi care team and her family and friends would wear for her.
During long hospital stays at the state’s only children’s hospital and UMMC’s bone marrow transplant unit, Iva was cheered on by child life specialists, health care team members who help families through stressful medical experiences, as well as her doctors and nurses, Nicole said.
“Without them, it would have been quite gloomy for her,” she said. “She was so young when she was hospitalized that what she remembers most is the playroom.”
Child life specialists were by her side before surgeries, port accesses and scans, Nicole said. “They were wonderful to her.”
Chemotherapy left Iva with inner ear damage and hearing loss, so she now uses cochlear implants.
“I followed Iva for her hearing aids, but we ultimately recommended her first cochlear implant in 2021 to help maximize speech access and clarity,” said Dr. Ashley Grillis, associate professor of audiology. “Following her first implant, Iva made significant progress in her speech perception, speech/language development, reading and spelling. We ultimately implanted her second ear in 2022.”
Thanks to her implants and therapy, Iva is attending classes with her fourth-grade peers at Leflore Christian School.
She still sees the care team at the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and the Center for Advancement of Youth as well as specialists in neurology, endocrinology and ophthalmology.
“I’ll always be thankful that Iva can get the care she needs right here,” Nicole Lindsey said.
The care and compassion provided at Children’s of Mississippi made Iva’s care exceptional.
“We love the people at the children’s hospital,” she said. “They are very special to us.”
Grillis said Iva’s skills in showmanship and dedication to the care of her hog come as no surprise.
“Over the years, it has been a joy to watch Iva grow and develop as a young lady,” she said. “As a patient, she has all the personality and wears fabulous outfits and accessories. When she comes to clinic, I can’t wait for her to tell me all about her latest adventures and fashion finds.”
Iva also enjoys creating art, dancing, activities at St. John’s Methodist Church and being a big sister to brother Hamp, 2.
“We’re so proud of Iva,” Nicole Lindsey said. “Her strength and determination inspire us every day. This donation to Children’s of Mississippi means so much to our family, and we hope it helps other kids like Iva get the care they need.”