Funeral and Memorial Services

Update: Jorell Velez Jr. Lost his battle to cancer this afternoon on 5/3/23 at 12:22pm. We are not okay right now. His last words were directed to his Mother “Please, Help, Help” as liquid filled his lungs. Fu*k this hurts so bad to type. My Sister is still holding him. She doesn’t want to say goodbye. He did not want to go. He didn’t deserve this! Why is there not a cure yet? The pain we are feeling is unbearable, but to know that he is no longer in pain gives us just a bit of comfort. Excuse me while I’m selfish and we want him back. How does my sister say goodbye to her first born child? Please continue to keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we figure out where to go from here….

I cannot believe I am writing this right now, so please bare with me….

I am writing this on behalf of my Sister Christina Shriner. She can’t bring herself to ask for help because she has drained every ounce of herself praying, begging, pleading and bargaining with god to take her and not her son, Jorell Velez Jr. He was diagnosed with Stage Four Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor (DSRCT) Cancer in March of 2020. Jorell was 18 years old when diagnosed. The diagnosis came out of nowhere and hit everyone like a ton of bricks. But despite everything, Jorell persevered through all the Treatments, medications, long hospital stays, hair loss, wieght loss, radiation and chemotherapy. Jorell had a strong Will to live and he truly believed that he would beat it. Three years! Three whole years he Fought. And boy did he Fight! Unfortunately, this type of cancer is Terminal. It’s a disgusting, vile cancer. It has drained him of all his energy. He no longer eats. He is in agonizing pain. He is currently in Heart, Liver and Kidney Failure. His lungs are filling up. This cancer has stolen the Life out of him. It has robbed him of the life he wanted, the life that he deserved. There is nothing more the doctors or his hospice team can do. The only thing that they can do is make him “comfortable.” He has been given 2 days to a week to live. My Sister is beyond heartbroken, devastated, depressed and in complete and utter hopelessness. There’s really no amount of words I can use to describe what she is feeling. Her Son is going to die. That’s not suppose to happen. We are not suppose to bury our children. They are suppose to outlive us. This is not suppose to happen! Excuse me, for I am mad. I’m mad that Jorell does not get to live past Twenty One years of Life. There were still so many “Firsts” he had not yet experienced, So much life he will not get to experience. I am sad that my sister will never get to see him get married or to see him have children of his own. Excuse my language but Fu*k Cancer. My sister is currently and is going to be dealing with a tremendous amount of grief and loss. The last thing she needs to be worrying about is if she will be able to give her son a proper funeral. One that he deserves. This life has handed him a shi**y deck of cards but he remained humble, kind and full of love. He deserves to have a good funeral and memorial. One that he would be proud of as he looked down at from above. My sister is only wishing for half of that. She currently is stressed on how his funeral is going to happen. She is terrified that they will keep his body until she can pay. I am asking for anyone who has taken the time to read this to please donate or share to help my sister bury her son and give him a memorial that he deserves. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Chelsea Hood