Jalayah
Jalayah is a kind, brave and energetic nine-year-old girl who enjoys painting, unicorns, arts and crafts, swimming, and scary movies. She was diagnosed as a baby with congenital dysplastic kidney disease and underwent a kidney transplant in 2013. In April 2017, Jalayah was diagnosed with Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease (PTLD is classified as a lymphoma, a cancer that affect the lymphatic system). She underwent chemotherapy which was completed in August 2017. Jalayah has had two relapses of PTLD, once in 2018 and again in June 2019. She underwent a stem cell transplant in April of 2020, and completed her chemo last month at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, NJ.
Jalayah has older twin siblings, Jamiyah and Jeremiah. They live with their mom, Patrice. Their dad died a year before Jalayah’s cancer diagnosis. As a single parent and her daughter’s caregiver, Patrice has been unable to work since Jalayah’s cancer diagnosis in 2017.
The Tom Coughlin Jay Fund has been there for this family through their long journey, providing financial assistance for household expenses, transportation and holiday support, as well as including them in various in-person and virtual events.
Most recently, the family’s furnace cracked, and the repair company told them it would be 3-4 days to make the repair. The stress of providing safe, warm shelter for her family along with Jalayah’s post treatment follow-up scans was tremendous. Mom reached out to ask for assistance and the Jay Fund immediately agreed to pay for a hotel for three nights.
Four days later when the family returned home, Patrice reached out with this message, “Thanks a million again, we’re home!!! We came back to a warm house this morning. I truly appreciate the Jay Fund from the bottom of my heart. I thank you a trillion times, we love you.❤️”