{"id":173,"date":"2018-05-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2018\/?p=173"},"modified":"2018-06-06T22:15:15","modified_gmt":"2018-06-06T22:15:15","slug":"volunteer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidscancercare.ab.ca\/annual-report-2018\/volunteer\/","title":{"rendered":"a story of finding life’s passion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cJennifer is a jack of all trades. She bakes, cooks, cleans. She\u2019s there at seven in the morning to prep breakfast and doesn\u2019t leave until the dishes are done after dinner. She\u2019s my kitchen hero.\u201d\u00a0 \u2013 Chef Mo, Camp Kindle.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They say everything happens for a reason. But maybe, just maybe, things just happen to us. How we deal with them is what gives us purpose.<\/p>\n

As a teenager, Jennifer Thiedemann\u2019s daughter Jessica dealt with a lot. At the age of 12 she was diagnosed with juvenile dermatomyositis, a rare and life-threatening muscle disorder. Jessica\u2019s early teen years \u2013 ones she planned to spend going to school and playing basketball \u2013 were spent dealing with steroids, appointments, hospitals, blood work and, sadly, bullying at school.<\/p>\n

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Jennifer (right) with her daughter Jessica.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jennifer was in awe of her daughter\u2019s unbreakable spirit. Her daughter continued to have a wonderful zest for life and a love for her friends, family and school. After three years of treatments, Jessica returned to the basketball court \u2013 fully healed.<\/p>\n

A year later, Jessica found herself back at the hospital. This time it was cancer. Diagnosed with melanoma at the age of 16, Jessica maintained her bubbly and captivating personality and her determined outlook, while undergoing surgery to remove the cancer. And, once again, she returned to normal life.<\/p>\n

Jessica found purpose in the pain she endured in 2004, when she shaved off her beautiful blonde hair to raise funds to support children battling cancer through Kids Cancer Care\u2019s Shave Your Lid for a Kid\u00ae<\/a> program. It was just three days after her high school graduation. Jennifer recalls it fondly as the family\u2019s first introduction to Kids Cancer Care<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Relapse is something every survivor fears and a second diagnosis has the power to destroy even the most resilient of spirits. Not Jessica.<\/p>\n

For Jessica, the melanoma returned in her second year of university and this time, there were tumours in her lungs. Jessica inquired about treatment but the doctors told her the cancer had metastasized and there was little they could do. Jennifer remembers her daughter replying simply with, \u201cI do not accept that, you have to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Jessica\u2019s insistence, she was accepted into a clinical drug trial in Edmonton. To this day, Jennifer remembers watching her daughter endure the painful treatment, amazed by her courage and strength. She endured the treatment not just once, but twice in a two-week span. Jessica gained thirty pounds in fluid in just three days.<\/p>\n

On August 19, 2007, Jessica passed away in her mother\u2019s arms. Those who loved her were heartbroken.<\/p>\n

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Jessica (centre) with her brothers in Hawaii.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jennifer\u2019s children have always been her world and her sons\u2019 activities kept her occupied between work at home and the graveyard shifts at work. But soon, her sons were adults and Jennifer found herself with spare time. She needed to find her purpose.<\/p>\n

In 2011, she heard an ad for the Don, Joanne and the Coach Golf a Kid to Camp tournament for Kids Cancer Care. After signing up to volunteer at the event, Jennifer immediately felt close to her daughter.<\/p>\n

In 2017, Jennifer was down to one job and had more time to volunteer<\/a>. Doing more is exactly what Jessica would have done and Jennifer is finding new purpose in taking steps out of her comfort zone to be more like her daughter.<\/p>\n

Kids Cancer Care\u2019s biggest volunteer need comes each year during our summer camp<\/a> programs at Camp Kindle<\/a>. Jennifer knew that working directly with the kids affected by cancer as a volunteer counsellor could be emotionally challenging. Drawing strength from her daughter\u2019s legacy, she knew this hurdle wouldn\u2019t stop her. As someone who loves to bake and cook, Jennifer sought out Camp Kindle\u2019s Chef Mo Syed.<\/p>\n

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Jennifer shares a laugh with Chef Mo in the kitchen.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Feeding hundreds of hungry campers is no easy task, so Chef Mo jumped at the opportunity to have a volunteer in his kitchen and asked Jennifer to join him during the last week of summer camp. Now this was serendipity. Jennifer always takes that week off work \u2013 as it was the week Jessica passed away. Instead of retreating in grief, she spent a wonderful week at camp cooking and helping out in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

And boy, does she help out.<\/p>\n

\u201cJennifer is a jack of all trades. She bakes, cooks, cleans,\u201d Mo raves. \u201cShe\u2019s there at seven in the morning to prep breakfast and doesn\u2019t leave until the dishes are done after dinner. She\u2019s my kitchen hero.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a bereaved mom, Jennifer believes she gets more than she gives at Camp Kindle. \u201cI feel distant wherever I go, but this is where I belong. I\u2019m comfortable here. I don\u2019t have to explain myself. If I say I lost a child to cancer, you don\u2019t get the blank stare. And that\u2019s what brings me back to camp and to volunteer time and time again.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Jessica is no longer physically with her, Jennifer feels her daughter would be proud of her mother for continuing her legacy and finding her life\u2019s purpose through volunteer work. As she continues to step outside her comfort zone, Jennifer takes on more volunteer roles at Kids Cancer Care fundraising events: Tour for Kids<\/a>, Dad and Daughter Gala<\/a> and Parents\u2019 Quest for the Cure<\/a>. And, of course, she\u2019ll be back in the kitchen again this summer. Her purpose now is to be someone who exhibits Jessica\u2019s qualities to keep her memory alive: \u201cI miss her to the depths of my soul. But at some point I will see her again and I have to be able to say, \u2018I did okay\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n

Thank you to our amazing volunteers, who generously share their passion and purpose with us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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