In Memory of Jessie Doktor…

We learned this morning that Jessica Doktor passed away yesterday. Jessie was nine, and lived in the town next to us, Ipswich. Jessie was the Superhero of Superheroes…enduring more than any child should ever have to go through.

I met Gail, Jessie’s mom, during Ethan’s first months of treatment at the hospital. We were North Shore neighbors, and we knew our children were both in route to the bone marrow transplant unit. Gail shared with me some of her veteran knowledge that she had acquired over the past 6 years with Jessie’s battle…knowledge you don’t learn from the nurses or doctors, but only from a mom, who has traveled the journey never leaving her child’s side.

I never met Jessie personally. Her and Ethan were both “isolated” in their rooms, so there were always walls dividing us. I looked forward to my conversations with Gail in the hospital hallway or kitchen – sharing the highlights of our days, or downsides of our days, whatever the case may be. Gail does a phenomenal job of conveying Jessie’s strength, spunk, love, and courage through their family website. I follow their site like most people follow the world news. Jessie’s strength, her family’s strength, are amazing…it’s captured in the title of their family website, Healing Ourselves by Helping Others. Truly a positive family, together with Jessie, they will continue to make a difference. They are an amazing model for families traveling this unchosen journey.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Jessie’s family.