"Life isn’t pretty": Mom shares photos of son to show harsh reality of cancer
One day, as Jessica Medinger watched her 10-year-old son struggle to fight his second battle with cancer, she felt compelled to take a picture and share it on Facebook with a message: “Life isn’t pretty, and cancer destroys a person.”
The mom from Tomball, Texas, posted the photo of her “skin and bones” son on International Cancer Day after she carried him to the bathroom in a pair of Pull-Ups. Expecting backlash, Medinger defended her decision to share the photo in a paragraphs-long post.
Drake Medinger, 10.
“This is him and me, and our world,” Medinger explained on a Facebook page that chronicle’s the young boy’s journey with leukemia.
She then described Drake’s day-to-day life.
“Yes, he is in a pull up because 75% of the time he can’t control his bathroom habits,” Medinger wrote. “This is skin and bones, because I have to beg him to eat ONE green bean for supper, or drink a cup of water throughout the day. This is having your son sleep with you at night because he is afraid of something happening and being alone, and by something, I mean dying.”
On a typical day, Drake may have to take up to 44 pills in less than 24 hours, Medinger continued.
“This is him not wanting to be touched, because it hurts too much, and using morphine to get through his day,” she said. “This is him telling me he is scared and thinks he wont see his 11th birthday.”
Medinger’s brutally honest message went viral with more than 65,000 shares since it was posted last week, and the family’s Facebook page has been flooded with messages from others facing similar circumstances.
“This is what exhausted looks like when waiting for the doc to come in,” Medinger describes.
“I had stage 4 cancer – Burkitts Lymphoma at 14 and know exactly how he feels,” one Facebook user wrote. “I was given 10% chance to live and 48 hours without treatment … 28 years later, I am here to enjoy a trip to the beach with my daughter.”
“I’m praying for you two! Cancer is tough and wicked. My baby cousin was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma at age 7. He was the youngest in the nation to have contracted this type of cancer,” another commented.
Before giving an update on Drake’s health status, Medinger took a moment to thank followers for their support on Sunday.
“I am overwhelmed by the positive comments and prayers. I personally believe that they make a huge difference in Drake’s fight against Relapsed Leukemia,” Medinger wrote. “My post was never meant to go viral, I was just letting my family and friends know my feelings that morning.”
Thousands of people who were touched by Drake’s story offered to donate toward his medical expenses. As of Wednesday afternoon, nearly $70,000 has been raised on the boy’s YouCaring page — greatly exceeding the family’s original goal of $10,000.
“Thank you everyone for the out pouring of support…your uplifting words, they really helped,” Medinger said.