Family's 4,000-Mile Journey in Honor of Daughter Who Died From Cancer
Photo: JuCan Foundation/Facebook
When Jonathan Cobb was diagnosed with a rare intestinal cancer in 2006, he vowed that he would walk across the country to celebrate when got better. His daughter Julia thought it was such a great idea that she wanted join him. Today, Jonathan is cancer-free and has just passed the halfway point on that 4,000 mile trek – but without his daughter. Four years ago, Julia was diagnosed with her own cancer, Ewings sarcoma, and battled it for two years before passing away, at age 8, on the last day of her Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. For that reason, the Cobb Family (including wife Jennifer and siblings Jonathan, 13, Jenna,11, and Jaxi, 4) decided that the Magic Kingdom would be a meaningful spot to end the journey and have rallied to walk alongside Jonathan.
Photo: Julia Cobb - JuCan Foundation/Facebook
“We feel like we’re carrying out something for her that she couldn’t do here on earth,” Julia’s mother Jennifer Cobb tells Yahoo Parenting, noting that the family started their trek from Disneyland in Anaheim, California on August 6. “One day before she died, she danced with Prince Charming and had a photo shoot with Cinderella. It was beautiful.”
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Before their walk, the Cobbs established the JuCan Foundation to raise awareness and funding for pediatric cancers. The family has also lost another two members to the disease: Jennifer’s mother was diagnosed with the same rare intestinal cancer as Jonathan and passed away in 2006 and Jonathan’s mother lost her year-long battle with cancer in May 2013.
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But in August, when the Houston-based brood kicked off the cross-country walk, they shifted their anger to hope for all people suffering from the sickness. “Julia was amazing,” says Jennifer. “I have had many conversations with the Good Lord about exactly why he could let something like this happen. She was incredible and really impacted so many people. Five hundred came to her memorial. I still do not understand why she is not here standing up to telling her story. All I can say is that I don’t think we would actually be walking across America if she was here – and that I have decided that it’s better to have faith than no faith.”
Photo: JuCan Foundation/Facebook
Of course, strolling across the country with three young children is no small task for the former science teacher and her pastor husband. They live in hotels along the way. They celebrate birthdays at zoos, spent Christmas in a single hotel room hiding in the bathroom to wrap gifts, and are homeschooling the kids. “I like to call it road schooling,” says Jennifer. “But we have good practice [living an unconventional lifestyle] having been through two years of our cancer journey.”
Due to all the time they spent in and out of hospitals and searching for treatments, the Cobbs have moved eight times. “Our kids are not used to what most kids are used to as normal,” she says. “Our lives have revolved around scans and chemotherapies for so long, we haven’t known anything different. But we’ve made the best of it because we had to decide to either rise above it or crumble.”
One way they maintain their good spirits: “When my husband was in treatment, we decided then that we would live for each moment,” says Jennifer. “It sounds so cliche when people say to hug your loved ones every day, but it’s so true. We lived day-to-day wondering if my mother-in-law would wake up, so this is how our family rolls now. We’re very resilient.” When Julia was sick, Jennifer would hear people talk about 7:30 p.m. bedtime schedules for kids and three meals around a dining table and marvel. “For us it was food on the run on the way to doctor appointments. It was homework in the car,” she says. The family once saw an 11:30 p.m. movie that Julia wanted to see, thinking “We may not have another chance.”
Togetherness is the silver lining that keeps the family going mile after mile. “We’ve always stuck together,” says Jennifer. “And now it feels great to be able to inspire other families struggling against the disease to do the same.” It’s not easy for mom and dad, she admits. “We still cry everyday and have small breakdowns but all in all we hold it together – for our kids.” And Julia’s love fuels them all, step after step, town after town. “I feel her presence with us,” says Jennifer. “She encourages me to keep going.”
To make a donation to the JuCan Foundation visit: www.jucanfoundation.org.
Photo: JuCan Foundation/Facebook
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