6-month-old battling rarest form of childhood Leukemia
Jaycee Jean was diagnosed with the rarest form of childhood leukemia less than two weeks ago
By Lacey Beasley
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MOBILE, Alabama (WALA) — A Mobile 6-month-old is fighting a big battle and grabbing the community’s support.
Jaycee Jean was diagnosed with the rarest form of childhood leukemia less than two weeks ago, and it’s only the second case USA hospital has ever seen.
Now, her parents, Brandon and Laura Bedsole, are praying for a match so Jaycee can soon get a bone marrow transplant.
It also started when Jaycee went in for a normal checkup. Her parents said nothing really seemed out of the ordinary.
“Her little belly was swollen, but it kind of looked like a food belly like she’d had a couple of bottles, and in the morning it would go down,” said Brandon Bedsole. “Then the last few weeks, it never really went down. When we took her in, the doctor felt her, and he felt like he felt a mass.”
That mass was her spleen working in overdrive. Jaycee’s white blood cell count was through the roof.
Within 24 hours, she was diagnosed with JMML Leukemia, the rarest childhood strand. Literally, one in a million.
“If it wasn’t for that blood test, and all the CT scans and X-rays, that’s really the only way you can catch it,” said Laura Bedsole.
Following the diagnoses, it propelled the family into a whirlwind.
Now, Jaycee has started chemotherapy, and doctors locally and globally are banding together.
The Bedsoles made a trip to the University of Alabama at Birmingham to see if Jaycee’s older sister, 4 year old Jordan, would be a match for a bone marrow transplant.
She has a 25% chance.
Fundraisers are also sprouting across the area.
The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo raised $1,500, along with other businesses, churches, and schools.
“We have great friends and family, but it amazing to see our community, and there’s still so many good people out there,” said Laura. “There’s really a lot of great people, and we’ve really felt that. We’ve been hanging on to our faith, but the love and support and prayers have been overwhelming and gotten us through.”
Jaycee is a strong little fighter through it all.
“She’s found her voice, she really has,” said Laura. “She’s sitting up more and rolling over more, and she’s really happy. We try to stay positive. After the first initial day or two, you try not to be angry, but now we’re ready to fight, and with the support of everyone, we’re doing this for her. Just don’t take it for granted. Hug those babies every night.”
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