"No one Fights Alone!" #DJStrong
Donation protected
Diweni's full story can be found at www.caringbridge.org/visit/soccergirldiweni
On Friday, March 24, 2017, the World the Jituboh family had always known would be changed Forever. God gave them a new path; without warning, without preparation, without even an inkling of experience to use as a guide! This genuinely kind hearted family and so many others close to them were forced to quickly alter their daily lives; their routines; their way of life. This group includes others her age and refer to one another, talk to one another, and share with one another like they are an extended family. It is comprised of several extremely confident, non-fearing teenagers. These kids are the ones we all know are headed down roads leading to unlimited success. Most are very athletic teens, with a firm grip on their goals, dreams, and daily schedules. They are the ones that start at 6:00 in the morning and, after school and extracurricular sports, return home generally around 9:30 in the evening, then stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning doing homework and still manage to have those coveted "A Honor Roll" signs put in their yards by their Rockstar Principal, Virdie!
You see, on this Friday in March 2017, about the time Diweni began being noticed by college soccer scouts, that were traveling from across the country to watch her "float down the soccer field, almost like a ghost," she was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, bone cancer. This had to be a bad dream. "DJ" is a 14 year old Freshman at Wylie High School. They were going to call back on Monday and tell the family they had made a big mistake, right? Diweni is unlike typical teenagers. She eats well, she practices daily (one of those kids that knows it takes 10,000 perfect practices to be perfect), and what makes her most unique is that moral compass of hers.
Diweni began her first of, around, 9 months of chemotherapy treatments on Monday, April 3, 2017. There will be a surgery to remove any remaining tumor on about week 12. Here we are, just 5 days after week 1 of chemo, and there is already such a recognizable change in her. She knows it too and anyone that knows her can tell it's just annoying her. There’s a piece of her, deep inside, that tells her she needs to be on a soccer field, chasing somebody down that is getting close to her Goal!
Her family and her extended family are different too. They don't know what to say, what to do, or just why this is happening? This new path isn't just a split in the road for them; it's a move from one planet to another. It happened so quickly. March 24 was just 15 days ago; What will life be like 9 months from now?
We live in a community, here in North Texas, that although we’ve gone from a 2A school when I graduated WHS to now being in a 6A division, when times get rough and one of us needs help, we gather together. We pray, we bring meals, we run errands, and we pray some more. It feels as though we still had a population of just a few thousand people and there was mostly only land and horses and cows as far as you could see. This little area of Wylie, Murphy, and Sacshe, Texas is a fine place to live. We will get together with our #TeamDJ yard signs and “Pray for Diweni” t-shirts and bracelets and car decals and show the Jituboh’s that they do not have to fight this Alone. With God leading the way, we will march to the end of this fight with her and we will celebrate our victory.
On Friday, March 24, 2017, the World the Jituboh family had always known would be changed Forever. God gave them a new path; without warning, without preparation, without even an inkling of experience to use as a guide! This genuinely kind hearted family and so many others close to them were forced to quickly alter their daily lives; their routines; their way of life. This group includes others her age and refer to one another, talk to one another, and share with one another like they are an extended family. It is comprised of several extremely confident, non-fearing teenagers. These kids are the ones we all know are headed down roads leading to unlimited success. Most are very athletic teens, with a firm grip on their goals, dreams, and daily schedules. They are the ones that start at 6:00 in the morning and, after school and extracurricular sports, return home generally around 9:30 in the evening, then stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning doing homework and still manage to have those coveted "A Honor Roll" signs put in their yards by their Rockstar Principal, Virdie!
You see, on this Friday in March 2017, about the time Diweni began being noticed by college soccer scouts, that were traveling from across the country to watch her "float down the soccer field, almost like a ghost," she was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, bone cancer. This had to be a bad dream. "DJ" is a 14 year old Freshman at Wylie High School. They were going to call back on Monday and tell the family they had made a big mistake, right? Diweni is unlike typical teenagers. She eats well, she practices daily (one of those kids that knows it takes 10,000 perfect practices to be perfect), and what makes her most unique is that moral compass of hers.
Diweni began her first of, around, 9 months of chemotherapy treatments on Monday, April 3, 2017. There will be a surgery to remove any remaining tumor on about week 12. Here we are, just 5 days after week 1 of chemo, and there is already such a recognizable change in her. She knows it too and anyone that knows her can tell it's just annoying her. There’s a piece of her, deep inside, that tells her she needs to be on a soccer field, chasing somebody down that is getting close to her Goal!
Her family and her extended family are different too. They don't know what to say, what to do, or just why this is happening? This new path isn't just a split in the road for them; it's a move from one planet to another. It happened so quickly. March 24 was just 15 days ago; What will life be like 9 months from now?
We live in a community, here in North Texas, that although we’ve gone from a 2A school when I graduated WHS to now being in a 6A division, when times get rough and one of us needs help, we gather together. We pray, we bring meals, we run errands, and we pray some more. It feels as though we still had a population of just a few thousand people and there was mostly only land and horses and cows as far as you could see. This little area of Wylie, Murphy, and Sacshe, Texas is a fine place to live. We will get together with our #TeamDJ yard signs and “Pray for Diweni” t-shirts and bracelets and car decals and show the Jituboh’s that they do not have to fight this Alone. With God leading the way, we will march to the end of this fight with her and we will celebrate our victory.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kimberly Milkiewicz Watkins
Organizer
Wylie, TX
Kimberly Watkins
Beneficiary
