The little beauty you see at the bottom of my page is Jaelyn Glaz, an eight-year-old who came into my heart last year when I was preparing to shave my head as a member of the Sactown Baldies. Roxana, one of my teammates at SRBX is dear friends with Jaelyn’s Mom, and when Rox told me Jaelyn’s story, I honored Jaelyn when I shaved my head. I’ve gotten to know more about Jaelyn over this past year, as I’ve staying in touch with Jaelyn and her family. Now I’d like you to know about her journey.
Jaelyn came into this world prematurely at 33 weeks, and by the time she was 8 months old, she needed a triple organ transplant. Her liver and bowels were failing her, and she required daily blood transfusions so she could live long enough to get a fighting chance at life.
September 17, 2010, Jaelyn was given that chance, receiving a donated liver, small bowel and pancreas. For the next five years, she enjoyed the life a young girl should have: Being surrounded by family, friends, going to school and getting to be a “regular” kid.
This changed for Jaelyn in November of 2015. Doctors discovered she had Stage 4 T-cell Lymphoma, which had spread through her small intestine, colon, liver, lungs, and lymph nodes. She had 6 rounds of intense chemo, and was declared cancer-free in May, 2016. Sadly, the cancer came roaring back, and she is once again (literally) in the fight for her life.
Jaelyn has gone through 4 rounds of a combination of different chemotherapies hoping to drive the cancer out. It was almost a year ago when doctors told Jaelyn and her family that the chemo did not work and there aren’t any more options for treatment. Her parents are searching across the nation to find a treatment that will work, but it is a race against the clock; the cancer Jaelyn has is very aggressive.
This had not deterred this little girl whom I’ve never met, but dearly love. Jaelyn and her family are living every day to the fullest. She has a lot of life in her and as you now know, she is a fighter.
So now that you know Jaelyn, please help me help her. I’m going bald for Jaelyn on March 12th at de Vere’s with the Sactown Baldies. I’d love to tell Jaelyn that our team raised the most money to fight pediatric cancer. Please contribute at this link, and please share my post on social media and with your friends.
One year ago, I didn’t know Jaelyn. But she has stolen my heart. Hopefully, her story has stolen yours too.