Teen’s St. Jude journey drew this mother and daughter closer together

When Jasmine heard the word “cancer,” time seemed to stop — just as it had for her mother, Ashley “In that moment, I was kinda like mom. I just froze. I had to hear him (the doctor) say it more than once before I could process what was being said,” Jasmine said. “Even then, I wanted to cry and I wanted to be upset. But I was just so scared that I was just sitting there. I was frozen. I didn’t know what to do.” 

She was only 14, but she knew what cancer was. She knew what it could mean.  

For nearly a year, Jasmine, now 16, had been dealing with what they initially thought was a lingering knee injury. After all, before cancer, life was all about softball, and sometimes you get hurt playing the game. And Jasmine likes to slide into the bases. 

She plays shortstop and is a utility player who’s able to play in any position. The field is where she felt strongest, where she excelled.  

But the pain in her left knee wouldn’t go away.

 

In April of 2024, Jasmine went in for a surgery to clean out what doctors thought might be an infection, and a biopsy. A routine step, they thought, to treat an infection and rule out something serious. But what they hoped would bring reassurance turned out to be life changing. 

Ashley will never forget the day they got the results.  

Jasmine was at school. Ashley — off work for the day — was heading out to shop with her mom when the phone rang. The doctor wanted to see them the next day. 

Because of the urgency, Ashley assumed it was something that needed immediate attention. But cancer wasn’t on her radar.  

The appointment began like any other. The doctor asked Jasmine how she was feeling. Small talk. Calm.  

Then everything changed. Jasmine had osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer in children and teens.   

“My whole entire world, from that moment, flipped. I couldn’t get control of my emotions,” Ashley said. “I just wanted to hold her. I kept telling her everything was going to be OK.” 

Jasmine was referred to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, where she underwent nine months of treatment that included chemotherapy and surgery.  

Finding courage together 

“More than anything, I was scared because I didn’t know what was going to happen while we were here,” Jasmine said. “But I kept myself going because I would always look at my mom and see the woman that she is. And it just inspired me to keep going.”  

What Jasmine didn’t realize was that her courage was fueling Ashley, too. 

“Never, not once, did she give up,” Ashley said.   

She never said she was tired. She never ever stopped pushing herself to get better, her mom said.  

“To know that she pushed through, she helped me push through,” Ashley said.  

Jasmine, her only child and “biggest blessing” experienced serious reactions to some of her chemotherapy medications. One drug resulted in kidney problems and another drug resulted in a seizure. At one point during the seizure, she thought she’d lost her daughter. 

Thankfully, the St. Jude staff reacted immediately, Ashley said.  

“I looked down one moment and I’m holding Jasmine’s hand, and I look up in the next and the room was full of doctors and nurses who are doing everything possible to get her to reverse back to a normal status,” she said. “And they got her back pretty quickly.” 

Even in the chaos, the St. Jude staff made sure Ashley understood what was happening.  

“They walked me through every step that there was,” she said. “They wanted to make sure I was OK as the caregiver and as her mother.” 

It was the hardest fight Jasmine had ever faced.   

“Some days I questioned if I was going to wake up the next day because of how hard chemo was, especially during my seizures and during my kidney failure. It was a hard long fight. But in the end, I did it.” 

Still, no child should have to go through childhood cancer, Jasmine said.   

“But, during those times you learn a lot about yourself. I learned that I can be a lot more resilient than I thought I could be. When I get knocked down, I just get back up,” she said.  

Now on the other side of treatment, the relationship with her mother is stronger than ever.   

“Me and my mom have always had a close bond. But during our time here we’ve spent so much time together, it’s just gotten so much better. We’re a lot closer than we were before,” Jasmine said. 

Amazing care  

“St. Jude is an amazing place. Your caregivers, your team — everybody here, they just become family throughout the journey,” Jasmine said. 

She noticed that the level of care is extraordinary.  

“It’s a whole different world and a whole different concept of care that you get,” Ashley said. 

And that care comes without the worry about cost, she said.  

Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment travel, housing or food. For Jasmine’s family, that support has made all the difference. 

“Just to know that the donations that come in and the people that help, they’re taking so much of a burden off of families that need that care and are helping parents be here with their children,” Ashley said.   

 Next leg of their St. Jude journey 

Today, Ashley has a gold ribbon tattoo. The color is the international symbol for childhood cancer awareness.   

 “I placed the tattoo on my left forearm, so it’s seen daily,” Ashley said. “And when questioned about the tattoo I say ‘my warrior survived but some didn’t. Some have wings now. So, I wear gold and yellow for not just my daughter, but the ones still fighting and the ones resting.’” 

 Words can hardly capture the pride that Ashley feels for Jasmine.  

 “This woman she is becoming, at just 15 years old, with the battles she’s been through, is just something so amazing to have watched,” Ashley said. “I brought a child here and I’m leaving with a young woman. Battles that I never thought that she would ever have to face, she’s fought head on and she never gave up. And I’m so very proud of her.” 

Both Jasmine and Ashley are eager to return to their home in Tennessee, to family and friends and their Boston Terrier, Harley, who’s been living with Ashley’s mom.  

And Jasmine’s doctors have assured her that as her recovery progresses, she will be able to go back to playing softball.