The Terrible Two’s

When you were 6 years old who did you look up to? Maybe a parent, or a sibling? Maybe it was even a cartoon character. Now that you’re an adult do you have people you look up to? Perhaps you’re trying to be someone for others to look up to. Well, in a few minutes maybe you’ll have someone new to look up to. And here’s the real kicker, it’s a 6 year old girl, and her name is Jolie.

We all know about the terrible two’s. That year in a kids life where they really test their parent’s patience. We’ve all used the term “terrible two’s” on many occasions. Most experts state that the terrible two’s happen because a child is at a point where they know what they want, but really have no way of telling you what they want. They think they are making it perfectly clear, but you have absolutely no idea. The result of course is both child and adult get frustrated.

But let me tell you about another terrible two. Imagine you’re a parent and your 2 year old daughter is crying. You don’t know why. She is grabbing at her back once in a while and saying “boo boo”, but you don’t see anything. A couple of days later when she is walking her legs are giving out on her. It just doesn’t look right. And the next day, her legs are simply limp.

You take your 2 year old to the doctor and your world changes forever. They tell you that she has cancer and it’s on her spine. Well, it happened, and all of a sudden, at 2 years old, Jolie was in the fight of her life. The doctors tried to treat her with Steroids, but apparently they only help athletes. So Jolie had to go through Radiation and Chemo treatments. And that’s a terrible Two that nobody should have to go through.

But Jolie fought and won. It was painful for both her and her parents, but when the doctors told them the Cancer was gone, it was well worth the fight. And Jolie started to live her life the way little girls are supposed to. And her parents got to start living theirs as well.

Then one day not long after her 5th birthday Jolie was sitting on her mom’s lap just minding her own business when her mom found a bump around her shoulder blade. I can’t imagine what went through her mom’s mind. Fear? Anger? Probably both.

Jolie was back at the doctors and as it turns out that fight for her life when she was 2 was just a sparring session. The real fight was about to begin. The Cancer was back, and it was worse than before. While that bump on her shoulder was nothing, the X-Rays taken revealed a tumor the size of an adult woman’s fist was on Jolie’s lung and it had to be removed.

In order to remove the tumor they had to break Jolie’s ribs AND remove part of her lung. And that was the easy part. While recovering from the surgery Jolie developed pneumonia. And now, in the fight for her life, Jolie was down, relying on a respirator to keep her breathing. And her parents at a time when they probably needed for their own well being to hold their little girl, couldn’t do so. Jolie was in isolation. She had to fight it alone.

And fight she did. I’m happy to say that she beat the pneumonia and that in the late rounds of her fight against the Cancer she is ahead on all cards. The fight is tougher than ever though. Her Chemo treatments continue. Every day for 2 weeks straight (one week at Sloan and one week at home) she get’s treatments. Then she gets one week off. And the cycle continues.

There is no medical plan in the world that would cover all of the expenses associated with what Jolie has gone through. A fund has been setup to assist with the mounting expenses. No matter if it’s $5, $50 or $500, everything helps. Checks made payable to the Jolie Joyce Fund can be mailed to The Jolie Joyce Fund, 162 Marcus Avenue, New Hyde Park NY 11040.

Jolie is 6 years old now. Who do you think she looks up to? I don’t know, but I sure hope she has a mirror.

As always, until next time, stay safe!

later,
dan

"My karma tells me, You've been screwed again! If you let them do it to ya, you've got yourself to blame! It's you who feels the pain! It's you who takes the shame!"