by Madison Evans
Life changed drastically on Sept. 16 for the Miller family of Sartell. Jaymeson Miller, 12, was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a common type of cancerous brain tumor in children. While his father, Adrian, and mother, Heather, are by his side at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester, Jaymeson’s sister, Carissa Miller, 29, of Foley is planning a fundraiser to help support the family.
The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov 18 at The Waters Church in Sartell. Attendance is $5 and there will be a silent auction, food, raffles, face-painting, kids’ tattoos, service dogs, apparel and jewelry. Many of the donations have come from area friends, family and local businesses. All proceeds will go toward Jaymeson’s fight to beat cancer.
While his fight is a daunting one, his sister, Carissa, shared a recent experience from Jaymeson’s hospital stay describing how his ability to light up a room remains strong.
Since his tumor-removal surgery, he lost the ability to perform basic functions like eating, speaking, walking and moving his arms. As part of his daily treatment, his care team checks sensations. During a recent visit, the energy in the room was low due to a string of difficult medical updates. The care team touched his shoulder and asked if he could feel it. Normally his answer was yes, but this time he shook his head no. Everyone froze and looked at him in panic. Then he began to giggle, immediately lighting up the room.
Jaymeson’s positivity isn’t a surprise to his classmates who know him for his warm smile, unwavering support and everlasting kindness. He is now a sixth-grade student at Sartell Middle School. His former Riverview Elementary teacher, Kelly Nystrom, described how he radiates positivity.
“Jaymeson is a gentle soul and he has the biggest heart,” Nystrom said. “He is a role model, a great friend and always puts others first. He is empathetic and very in tune with other people’s feelings. He would always come and tell me it’s going to be OK and give me a hug if he noticed I was frazzled or frustrated. Jaymeson mentored younger students while he was at Riverview. He helped these students feel welcome and made them want to come to school. He is just an all-around amazing human.”
His kindness is being returned in the form of support his family says he desperately needs right now during his rigorous schedule of radiation, physical therapy and occupational therapy. Jaymeson is currently staying at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester where his parents take shifts, making sure one of them is always by his side. His radiation is performed off-site. He is transported to the facility each weekday morning by ambulance. The treatment takes about an hour. Since it is targeted radiation, they have to sedate him and wait for him to wake up before transporting him back to the hospital where he needs to complete more daily tests. Generally, after that he is tired, so he sleeps most of the time. But his care team is focused on helping him regain his motor skills so they wake him up for three physical and occupational therapy sessions per day. On the weekends, he can take a break from the radiation but the PT and OT continues. The main difference for him is weekends are his relaxing days where he can have visitors, watch TV and listen to music.
Jaymeson is receiving overwhelming support from area residents and around the world. Family members developed a website, TeamJaymeson.com, which displays pictures and videos from supporters that put a twinkle in Jaymeson’s eyes when he sees them and gives him extra motivation to keep trying, according to his sister, Carissa. Also on his page you can find his Caring Bridge site with a detailed journal of his journey, a GoFundMe page which has surpassed $14,000 but is still only a fraction of their goal, a Mister Car Wash partnership program and more on the fundraiser.
The future for the Miller family will be challenging as Jaymeson’s recovery process may take years. After completing 30 total radiations, he will begin 13 months of chemotherapy. While this is happening, the family needs to renovate their home to accommodate his new care necessities. As for young Jaymeson, he has to retrain his body to perform routine tasks such as eating, brushing his teeth, walking and more. While the Miller family may experience many ups and downs along this journey, Jaymeson will likely face this with positivity and a big, glowing smile on his face.
