CURE Childhood Cancer Annual Report 2013-2014

c u r e ch i l d h o o d ca n c e r 2013-2014 a n n ua l r e p o r t
JENKINS FAMILY story
“I will never forget getting the doctor’s call. I was speechless with disbelief.
MY WORST NIGHTMARE WAS REPEATING ITSELF.”
— Will’s and John’s mom
The Jenkins Family was living a quiet,
unsuspecting life in Columbus, Georgia in
2008, when the avalanche of health problems
came crashing upon them. First, it was Will. He
was two and a half when a full body rash and
growing lymph node led to a diagnosis of Burkitt’s
Lymphoma. The cancer spread to Will’s kidney.
The boy’s young body underwent and endured
aggressive, toxic chemotherapy for 18 months.
The Jenkins family — mom, three sons and a
daughter — huddled in the blessing of little Will’s
survival. Their relief was brief. Two years later,
Will’s older brother, John, began having problems
keeping food down and having sudden lethargy.
Unbelievably, John was diagnosed with the same
Burkitt’s Lymphoma in his abdomen at age six.
The children’s mom, Christy, remembers, “I
will never forget getting the doctor’s call. I was
speechless with disbelief. My worst nightmare was
repeating itself. My instincts told me I had to get
John from school and to Children’s Healthcare of
Atlanta at Egleston immediately.”
John’s chemo was even more aggressive. Although
he lost 1/3 of his kidney, John survived. But the
avalanche wasn’t over. Genetic testing revealed
that the underlying cause of Burkitt’s Lymphoma
in Will and John was a rare and serious immune
disorder known as XLP. Mathew Jenkins, the
youngest son, was tested and diagnosed with XLP
also. It had not yet developed into cancer, but now
all three boys needed bone marrow transplants to
survive the onslaught of the deadly XLP.
The boys’ older sister, Julia, was a bone marrow
match for two of her brothers. Another donor was
found, and the transplants took place in Cincinnati,
where they were grueling but successful for all three
Jenkins boys. Their sister, Julia, fittingly became
part of this remarkable, unreal journey. A true hero,
like her brothers.
CURE, who had met the Jenkins family at
Egleston, found out about their ordeal in
Cincinnati and arranged to pay for their lodging
until they found long-term housing for the duration
of treatment and recovery.
Instead of asking “Why us?” Christy Jenkins
embraced the courageous outcomes of the story that
wouldn’t end for her family. “My boys and Julia
were incredibly brave, for my sake. CURE stepped
in with much needed care and support in the midst
of the horror after horror that tried to take our
family apart. We will be thankful forever.”
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