Thank you for taking the time to read about one of the strongest people I know and her incredible family. In 2016 when Alexis Weathers was in 8th grade, she began to experience headaches and problems with her vision. Tests led to a diagnosis of pineoblastoma, a type of brain cancer. The treatment for Alexis involved a 12 1/2 hour surgery, 35 sessions of radiation, and 6 months of chemotherapy. In addition, Alexis became legally blind, lost the hearing in one ear, and experienced difficulty with short term memory.
Helping to get her through the treatment was her amazing family, headed by her single mom, Kym, her 2 older brothers, Cheykese and Jordan, her younger sister, Aleya, and her younger twin brothers, Elijah and Emmanuel who were born with special needs. Kym once told me that her family was "a unit" and they worked together to get things done. This was evident while Alexis was going through her treatment and recovery. Kym had to contine working during Alexis's treatment and recovery, so recent high school graduate Cheykese stepped in to help with Alexis's at-home care, and assisted the home and hospital educational team that worked with Alexis; this is when I first met everyone.
As Alexis grew stronger, she returned to school part-time and eventually full-time. She learned how to navigate her environment using a white cane and began learning to read and write in braille and use magnification devices and screen reading technology to access her school work. Through all of the changes, Alexis kept her incredible enthusiasm for life and continued to care deeply for others, encouraging her classmates when they were down. Alexis was declared cancer free in March of 2017 and would celebrate each year her MRI confiremed she was still cancer free. She completed high school, began to take classes at the local community college, and got a job.
Life was going well for Alexis until she started to get headaches again and her speech began to slur. In November of 2023, Alexis was rediagnosed with cancer. The tumor is located in an area that is inoperable, and Alexis received so much radiation with her first diagnosis, her body cannot tolerate any more. An aggressive chemotherapy treatment was prescribed and Alexis and her family prepared for another fight. The treatment has taken a lot out of Alexis. She now relies on an NG tube to supplement her nutritional intake and her family has noticed that her visual impairment has worsened. Alexis, being who she is, continues to think of others and how she might help them, hoping to create make-up bags for girls going through chemotherapy to help them "look good and feel good."
At a recent check-up, Alexis learned that the current chemotherapy treatment is not working. Her medical team informed Alexis and her family of a clinical trial having good results for which Alexis might qualify as a participant. This trial (to which Alexis has been accepted) is at Children's Hospital of Georgia in Augusta, GA. Participation will involve an initial one-month stay followed by monthly visits. Cheykese, who is now a certified nursing assistant and works in the public schools, will attend with his sister before he returns to his job with the new school year. Who will attend with Alexis and how the family will pay for any expenses not covered through by the clinical trial funding are concerns that are now on the table for the Weathers family.
Through this fundraiser, I hope we can ease some of the burden to the family by providing them with financial security from loss of income, due to time off of work to travel, and housing expenses that may not be covered while in Georgia. The Weathers family has dealt with so much heartache and continued to live their lives with love and concern for others. Please help show your love for them by contributing to this fundraiser. Any amount is welcome. If 1,000 people would each contribute $10, we would make our goal. Alexis begins her treatment on August 5. I will post updates as I get them.
Thank you for reading.
Julie Hapeman (Alexis's former teacher and current friend)
