TELL
TELL US,
TELL US, WELL IT'S JUST LEUKEMIA, IT'S NOT THAT BAD.
I DON'T THINK THEY
UNDERSTAND... HOW
TOUGH CHILDHOOD
CANCER IS, ON THE KIDS
AND ON THE PARENTS.
A
A BOISE
A BOISE MOM IS SHARING WHAT HAVING A CHILD WITH CANCER IS REALLY
LIKE, AND IT'S TOUCHING
PEOPLE ALL OVER THE
TREASURE VALLEY.
THE JOURNEY FOR HER
DAUGHTER JESSIE HAS
BEEN A TOUGH ONE, AND
SHE IS DOCUMENTING IT
ON FACEBOOK.
THE POSTS ARE RAW AND
REAL, AND HUNDREDS OF
PEOPLE ARE INSPIRED BY
JESSIE'S STRENGTH.
MAGGIE O'MARA HAS THE
TOUCHING STORY OF
JESSIE'S JOURNEY IN
TONIGHT'S SEVEN'S HERO.
FEB
FEB 22
FEB 22 OF
FEB 22 OF THIS YEAR.... IT'S A DAY THAT JAMES & JENNIFER SEVERNS WILL
NEVER FORGET. THEIR 14
YEAR OLD DAUGHTER
JESSIE WAS FEELING SICK.
WE THOUGHT SHE HAS
THE FLU, IT'S NOT
ANYTHING REALLY BIG.
LET'S GET HER IN AND SEE
WHAT'S GOING ON.
OUR PEDIATRICIAN
WALKED OVER AND SAID
WELL I'M NOT GOING TO
SUGAR COAT THIS, THIS IS
CANCER.
SHE HAS T-CELL ACUTE
LYMPHOBLASTIC
LEUKEMIA.
LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKEMIA. THE SEVERNS WERE
SHOCKED. SUDDENLY
THEIR LIVES WERE IN A
TAILSPIN.
THE NIGHT THAT SHE
WAS DIAGNOSED...
SHE KNEW SHE WAS
GETTING CHEMO, AND
SHE SAID WELL MOM, I
NEED TO CUT MY HAIR...
SHE HAD LONG BEAUTIFUL
BLONDE HAIR AND SHE
SAID I NEED TO CUT MY
HAIR, WE NEED TO
DONATE IT.
TREATMENT STARTED
RIGHT AWAY... IT'S BEEN
MONTHS.
MONTHS. JESSIE WAS AND STILL IS EXHAUSTED. TIRED...
WHAT SHE'S BEEN
THROUGH - HAS BEEN
BRUTAL.
IT HURT...
HOW LONG HAVE YOU
BEEN THROWING UP FOR?
SINCE THE START OF IT.
SINCE THE START OF
CANCER?
YEAH.
CANCER? YEAH. CAN YOU TELL EVERYBODY
HOW IT FEELS WHEN YOU
GET
GET JOINT
GET JOINT PAIN? LIKE SOMEONE'S BREAKING MY BONES.
...LIKE SOMEONE'S
BREAKING YOUR BONES...
THE
THE PROCEDURES THAT SHE HAS GONE THROUGH, THE CHEMO THAT SHE'S
GONE THROUGH.. THERE
ARE NIGHTS THAT WE
WERE STAYING UP ALL
NIGHT AND SHE JUST
THREW UP CONSTANTLY
AND THENSHE WOULD
PUT A SMILE ON HER FACE
AND SAY SORRY MOM,
SORRY YOU ARE STAYING
AWAKE WITH ME. THAT'S
NOT SOMETHING THAT
SHE NEEDS TO BE SORRY
ABOUT...
SHE'S MORE WORRIED
ABOUT US, OR SHE'S
MORE WORRIED ABOUT
HOW WE FEEL...
YOU KNOW AS A MOM,
NOW I'M GOING TO CRY...
YOU CAN'T CUDDLE
THEM... YOU CAN'T
SOOTHE THEM TO MAKE
THAT GO AWAY.. YOU
CAN'T JUST TAKE THAT
PAIN AT THE MOMENT
AWAY FROM THEM... AND
IT IS HARD.
FOR US, IT BROUGHT US
TOGETHER, WE ARE A LOT
CLOSER...
BOTH JAMES AND JEN
ARE FROM HUGE FAMILIES.
SO, JEN STARTED THIS
FACEBOOK PAGE...
WE'LL JUST START HE R
OWN LITTLE PAGE AND
THEN PEOPLE CAN GO
THERE AND CHECK FOR
UPDATES.
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE
STARTED FOLLOWING
JESSIE'S JOURNEY, PEOPLE
THE SEVERNS DON'T EVEN
KNOW.
JUST IN A FEW DAYS IT
WAS SPREAD OUT TO THE
TREASURE VALLEY.
THEN IT WAS SHARED
AROUND THE UNITED
STATES...
I NEVER EXPECTED IT TO
GO AS FAR AS IT DID...
WITH JESSIE'S
PERMISSION, HER MOM
POSTS PHOTOS AND
VIDEOS DAILY. HER POSTS
ARE RAW, SOMETIMES
EVEN PAINFUL TO LOOK
AT, SHOWING THE REALITY
OF CHILDHOOD CANCER.
WE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE
THAT THOUGHT IT'S JUST
CANCER, YOU CAN GET
THROUGH THIS.
THAT WAS LIKE AN AH-HA
MOMENT.
LET'S LET PEOPLE SEE
HOW CANCER REALLY IS
FOR THESE KIDS.
THESE ARE THE THINGS
THAT I'M GOING
THROUGH, THESE ARE THE
THINGS THAT JESSIE IS
GOING THROUGH...
WHAT'S ONE THING THAT
YOU WANT TO DO WHEN
YOU GET DONE WITH
CANCER?
CANCER?
BE
BE A
BE A NORMAL KID. ...BE A NORMAL KID... SHE SAYS SHARING
JESSIE'S BATTLE, IS
IMPACTING OTHERS IN A
BIG WAY.
I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE
ARE NOW DONATING TO
ST JUDE'S, THEY HAVE
OFFERED TO VOLUNTEER.
THEY ARE INSPIRED BY IT.
YOU WILL ALSO SEE THE
STORIES OF THE OTHER
KIDS JESSIE MEETS AT THE
HOSPITAL. LITTLE CANCER
WARRIORS LIKE...
JW! JW???
JW! JW???
IS
IS IT
IS IT FUN? YEAH. JESSIE LOVES BABIES. THERE IS GOOD NEWS FOR
JESSIE... SHE MAY NOT FEEL
GREAT JUST YET, BUT SHE
IS CURRENTLY IN
REMISSION.
SHE HAS A FANTASTIC
PROGNOSIS.
OCTOBER 28 WE START
MAINTENANCE.
WE JUST NEED TO KEEP
THOSE CANCER CELLS
KIND OF AT BAY.
HER MOM CAN'T WAIT TO
POST THAT JESSIE IS BACK
DOING WHAT SHE LOVES...
LIKE HAVING...
SUSHI!
JESSIE'S PARENTS WANT
TO SAY THANK YOU TO
ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE
HELPING THEM THROUGH
THIS...
EVERY MESSAGE, EVERY
COMMENT,
COMMENT, WE READ THOSE. IT BRINGS A SMILE TO
HER, IT HELPS LIFT HER UP,
EVEN ON HER BAD DAYS.
THAT LOVE, WE FEEL IT
FROM EVERYBODY.
SEVEN'S HERO
JESSIE'S MOM ALSO TOLD
US SHE SHAVED HER HEAD
SO JESSIE WOULDN'T FEEL
ALONE!
ALONE! JESSIE IS LOOKING FORWARD TO HER LONG BLONDE HAIR GROWING
BACK, IT HAS ALREADY
STARTED TO COME IN.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
ON JESSIE'S JOURNEY,
CHECK OUT THIS STORY
ON KTVB.COM, WE'LL
CONNECT YOU TO HER
FACEBOOK