When it comes to matters of the heart, Stacey Lacroix is wise beyond her 11 years.

Seven months ago she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. She spent the next three months in Children's Hospital Boston. She's home now, but  hasn't yet been well enough to join her classmates at Elm Street Middle School.

She's hoping to get there next month.

Early on her mom, Liliybeth, was able to take some time off from her factory job in Manchester. But she's exhausted her sick time and any eligible Family Medical Leave she had coming – two years ago Liliybeth was fighting her own battle, with breast cancer. Although her employer worked with her for as long as possible, she was recently let go from her job.

"I don't blame them; they were really good to me. And I believe that, once Stacey is better, maybe they'll be able to take me back," said Liliybeth, running her fingers across Stacey's head, catching the wispy brown strands gently between her fingers. "She had more hair than this when she was born," she says, coaxing a smile from her one and only child.

When asked, Stacey can explain in detail just how the acute lymphoblastic leukemia is attacking her white blood cells and trying at every turn to infiltrate her body; she is well versed on what the next 18 months of treatment will be like, and matter-of-factly describes the need for pills, injections, and painful lumbar punctures.

Her mother says she's always been that way – brave, poised, mature, logical.

But when asked about the worst of times, Stacey's deep brown eyes puddle up in a flash; she's helpless to stop the sudden rush of tears.

"When my mother had cancer, that was the worst part of my life; the scariest I've ever been through – and I've been through a lot, even a car accident. Nothing I'm going through now could ever compare to the fear I had before, of losing my mom," said Stacey.

In that way, they are in this fight together, the two of them, each knowing too well the pain of treatment, and the helplessness of watching someone you love endure it.

But yesterday was one of those days that helps ease all the physical, mental and financial stresses of living with a life-threatening disease. In a meeting room at Nashua Police Headquarters, Stacey and her mom were gifted with a $5,000 check, enough to get them through the next few months. 

It is a donation made possible through two different organizations, Cops for Kids with Cancer and Lucy's Love Bus, both created solely to help make life a little better for families undermined by childhood cancer.

"It all started with a phone call, from Beecher," said Nashua Police Chief John Seusing, explaining how Beecher Grogan, of Amesbury, Mass., reached out to Nashua Police just before Christmas on behalf of Stacey, to see if they would be willing to work with Cops for Kids with Cancer to get the Lacroixs some financial help.

Stacey had recently started treatment through Grogan's organization, Lucy's Love Bus, for alternative cancer therapies. Because the application and approval process for Cops for Kids with Cancer  takes some time, Nashua Police wanted to do something to help the Lacroixs get through the holidays.

"Knowing Christmas was coming up and knowing Mrs. Lacroix had recently lost her job because of spending a lot of time taking care of her daughter, our patrolmen's union and the supervisors union came together quickly and, along with our PALS organization, were able to provide a pretty good Christmas for the Lacroix family, for which they were very grateful," Seusing said.

Grogan said it's just that kind of generosity and spirit of cooperation that reinforces her group's mission.

"We do a lot of bridging and weaving of services," said Grogan, who lost her own daughter, Lucy, to cancer six years ago.

Grogan's organization, inspired by Lucy's wish to create such a service one day for other kids, provides free integrative services to pediatric cancer patients, including massage, acupuncture and horseback riding, to ease the physical and mental discomfort associated with medical cancer treatment.

"We can't help families pay for their home heating oil, or their mortgage, but we can help families connect with other organizations that do," Grogan said.

In this case, she knew of the Boston-based Cops for Kids with Cancer, another unique organization with an incredible back story that, last year, helped 57 families who, just like the Lacroixs, needed a lift due to the financial burden often associated with cancer diagnoses and prolonged treatment.

CKC Chairman Bob Faherty, former Superintendent-in-Chief of the Boston Police Department, made the trip to Nashua Tuesday to be able to hand the check to Stacey and her mom, along with a small stuffed teddy bear and some words of encouragement.

In 10 years, it was the organization's first gift to a New Hampshire family.

"Tomorrow we're going to Rhode Island to meet with another family – as long as we have the money, we go wherever there's a child in need," said Faherty. "Through all the fundraising and golf tournaments, this is the best part of it for me, when we get to give the money to families, knowing how much it helps them," he said.

After the check presentation, Seusing introduced Stacey to an unexpected kindred spirit, Nashua Police Sgt. Kevin O'Brien.

"When I heard that you had ALL, that's exactly what I'm battling right now," O'Brien said to Stacey. "I got diagnosed nine months ago, and I just got told I'm completely clear, so they know what they're doing down there in Boston. I know ALL is scary to hear, and it's rare, but there's more and more of us in the battle, and we're winning it, too," he said, joining Stacey in a fist-bump of solidarity.

As the roomful of police officers and news reporters dwindled, Stacey leaned on her mom as she talked about what was on her mind –  how happy this day had been, and how special all the attention from people she's never met makes her feel; how losing her hair wasn't so bad; and how she worries a little about going back to school next month, wondering if the other kids will make fun of her.

But mostly she's focused on the things she loves – like going to YMCA summer camp at Camp Sargeant, and watching "Planet Earth" on the Discovery Channel, her obsession; between that, and her frequent-flyer status at the hospital, she's  actually crystallized her future goal: becoming a pediatric cardiologist someday.

"One time I saw an episode where they were doing open heart surgery on a Husky. At first I was afraid and grossed out, but then I looked beyond that, to the scientific side, and became more knowledgeable about it," Stacey says, twirling the small jade-colored charm hanging around her neck, a gift from her cousin, Jade.

"I don't know why, but the cardiac system is so fascinating to me," she said, perhaps not realizing the depth or weight of her words. "When I think about it, the wonders of the heart are just so amazing."