JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Sometimes the Grinch is not a green being who steals Christmas, but an illness with far more negative effects. And sometimes, Santa Claus is not a jolly bearded man who delivers gifts on Christmas Eve night but a foundation that delivers hope to people affected by the Grinch. In this Positively JAX story, the Grinch is cancer and Santa is the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation.
The story begins back when Tequisha Wyman, who is a Jacksonville single mother of four children, worked hard to finally afford to purchase a new home and car and give her kids everything they needed. Then on April 25, the nightmare of losing everything she worked hard for became a reality when her 8-year-old daughter Sa’Kyra Height was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma.
“She just had surgery. She’s doing chemotherapy right now. She’s been through a lot for a little body at her age,” Wyman said as she sat next to Sa’Kyra who was hooked to machines as cancer-fighting chemicals were being intravenously pumped into her body.
“I can feel her pain. Being stabbed with needles all through her body. Tubes wrapped around her face and arms. I don’t know what it’s like to sit in bed all day, but I know it’s sad,” said Sa’Kyra’s older brother Ernest Height.
Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that develops in nerve cells located in the adrenal glands. Neuroblastoma can also be expensive to treat, costing well more than $100,000. Even with insurance, the out-of-pocket costs are still expensive for many people to pay. That kind of financial burden is a lot for a single mom raising four kids, paying a monthly car note, a mortgage and utility bills with no outside help.
“I just knew I was going to lose my life, my house, my job, and everything,” Wyman said.
Financially, Wyman was in a tough spot and needed help. Fortunately, the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund Foundation learned of Wyman’s situation and intervened.
“They stepped in and paid all my bills. They came in at a time that was so terrible in my life,” Wyman said.
According to the Tom Coughlin Foundation, Jay McGillis was a special young man who developed leukemia while a member of Coach Tom Coughlin’s team at Boston College. In the eight months between Jay’s diagnosis and the day he lost his battle with cancer, the Coughlin family saw firsthand the physical, emotional, and financial strains the illness caused the McGillis Family. After going through the tragic events with Jay’s family, Coach Coughlin vowed that if he ever had the chance, he would create a way to help families with children battling cancer.
Coach Coughlin kept his vow and started Jay Fund in Jay McGillis’s honor. For more than 25 years, Jay Fund has evolved in size and scope. To date, the Jay Fund has provided $24 million in support to more than 5,600 families in Northeast Florida and the New York/New Jersey Metropolitan Area.
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Wyman said the Jay Fund was like a husband she never had and a father she wished her children had. She felt the organization went above and beyond to make sure she and her children could live a normal life while dealing with her daughter’s cancer.
“We never experienced the type of life Jay Fund gave us. We were just at home, and we had stuff at home for them to enjoy life, but we were not going out. But Jay fund said get out. I got your bills. Go take care of your daughter. Jay Fund has been the best in our life,” Wyman said.
News4JAX spoke with Sa’Kyra after speaking with her mom. She was very tired while undergoing chemotherapy but was able to answer three questions.
“How does it feel to have your mom with you by your side here at the hospital?” News4JAX asked.
“Great,” she said.
“You feel like you’re not alone?”
“Yes,” she said.
“And what about having your brother here as well?”
“I have a whole family,” Sa’Kya said.
Hopefully, Sa’Kyra will someday be rid of cancer and go on to live a normal life.