Lilly Branham attends Valparaiso High School. Besides playing on the soccer team there and keeping herself busy through her involvement in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, she may seem like a regular student. That isn’t quite the case, though, when what she’s uniquely done through both her commitments comes to the surface.
Branham’s nine-year-old neighbor, Jessa, was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in April of this year. The goings naturally haven’t been the smoothest for Jessa since then. Emotions all around have been heavy with sadness, and the stress the situation has brought is immense.
Questions concerning why all of this is occurring have been thrown out into the open by all parties. It’s been challenging for Jessa’s mother, Lisa Vucko, too.
“It's been most difficult for Jessa. She’s gone back and forth with the struggles of it all, taking it hard because she can't really understand why she has to be the one to go through it,” Vucko said.
Once she herself learned of the diagnosis, Branham’s heart broke. The hurt came because of her connection to Jessa, since neither saw the other as a stranger. They really got to know each other when Branham would come in to assist in Jessa’s kindergarten class, as well as each time she’d occasionally go over to babysit her. Out of that, a great friendship grew.
There was one impactful way Branham knew she could step up to raise Jessa’s spirits, and that was by making Branham’s teammates aware of Jessa’s circumstances. She used the news of Jessa’s condition to unify everybody behind the same cause. Branham’s mother sent out a message inquiring about anyone who wanted to come together to help in any way possible, and the response was astoundingly inspiring.
“When we reached out, everybody was so supportive and more than happy to help that we got both the junior varsity and varsity teams in on everything. We made these huge signs, signed a soccer ball, and put together goodie baskets. We even wore orange ribbons in our hair as we played, to raise leukemia awareness,” Branham said.
Jessa wasn’t able to actually attend any of the girls’ games due to her sickness and one instance of poor weather. However, Branham’s team visited Vucko’s home to bring the little girl gifts and company. The gesture was a united effort done in the hope that the team could bring comfort. Each of these developments has meant the world to Vucko.
“I really appreciate that they're so young and that they’re recognizing that cancer is something that's huge out there. It's bigger than what people know about it. Their making a mention of it is something I admire so much,” Vucko said.
Branham realizes that this isn’t her story, but Jessa’s. Her advocacy is impressive, yet it’s not hers alone. Through all this, she hopes that she can make others joyful and inspire them to follow in her footsteps.
“I hope that this story just brings a smile to somebody's face and if they’re thinking about helping out somebody else, they do it,” Branham said. “Jessa’s such a sweet girl, and she's really strong. I’m glad everyone came together for her because we all love her.”