Jeremiah's Courage Day was created to help other families who find themselves in a similar situation as us in Jan 2019 when our son Jeremiah was diagnosed with Very High Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Jeremiah’s Courage Day was created to celebrate the life of our son Jeremiah and to bring awareness to Childhood Leukemia. Those of you who had the pleasure to know Jeremiah, know he was a sweet,
kind-hearted, smart, 13 yr old who loved playing soccer for Westover Middle School #5 who wanted to become a professional soccer player and loved cooking. Our journey began January 2019 when Jeremiah who was 12 was experiencing headaches and leg pain that made it impossible to walk. After numerous doctors visits over a couple of weeks and finally having a doctor who actually listened and sent us for blood work, we were notified the next day that we needed to travel to Duke Children's Hospital to have follow up tests done to confirm preliminary results that he had Leukemia. Our lives and world as we had known it before would be changed forever. We spent a week initially in the hospital getting spinal taps, MRI’s, x rays, more blood work all of which confirming our biggest fear, Very High Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, A.L.L. Jeremiah had a rare form of leukemia and his age put him very high risk. Most children are diagnosed at a younger age than he was. Jeremiah began homeschool because we would have to travel 2-3 times a week for treatment and checkups, which his dad and I took turns doing, but he kept up with all his school assignments the whole time. There were lots of scheduled hospital stays that lasted 3-5 days at a time. Jeremiah was constantly nauseous, weak and tired but he didn't let that get him down. Jeremiah was a fighter. Jeremiah would cook dinner, his favorite Shrimp Alfredo, help me cook his other favorite baked macaroni and cheese, walk his younger brother to the bus stop in the mornings and be there when he got off in the afternoons. Over the next few months we watched our son in the biggest battle of his life but he handled it like a soldier. Jeremiah celebrated his 13th birthday on September 14, 2019 and was excited about returning back to school in January 2020 because the leukemia was almost in remission. But unfortunately 9 months into his journey, he passed away October 6, 2019 at home. We are here sharing our story in hopes to help other families. If something is not right and the doctors aren’t giving you answers, KEEP PUSHING, KEEP ASKING, DON’T JUST LET IT GO. Know the signs and symptoms. The sooner a child is diagnosed, the chances of survival are much greater. Now in Jeremiah’s honor and name, his dad Keith and I along with his 4 siblings, older sister Aaliyah, little brother’s Lynell and Da’Nysus and little sister Jiyah, have created Jeremiah’s Courage Day to celebrate his life and to help other families who have found themselves in the same position we were in. That's what he would want because he had the biggest heart and cared so much for others even while fighting his own battle. So it is our hope to hold this event annually and collect items, every day necessities that are needed when families stay at the hospital. Items such as toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, brush, deodorant, socks, stuffed animal or toy for the child affected, books (coloring books, crossword puzzles) hand sanitizers are just some examples. We will let them know they are not alone no matter how much they feel they are, somebody cares. We are partnered with Duke Children's Hospital where we will distribute the items we collect to those families. So I hope everyone will help us make Jeremiah’s Courage Day a success. It is our goal to hold Jeremiah's Courage Day annually and collect items, every day necessities that I personally found that I forgot or needed more of during our stay at the hospital. We are partnered with Duke Children's Hospital to distribute the items we collect to those families. Items such as toothpaste, toothbrush, comb, brush, deodorant, stuffed animal or toy for the child affected, books to occupy their mind (coloring books, crossword puzzles) hand sanitizer and body wash, etc… These items will help to ease the families minds and let them know they are not alone no matter much they feel they are.
