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Jessie's Story | Why Jessie? Jessie's Medical Fund More Info Help Jessie with a donation |
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Why Jessie?
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I am sure that many of you have asked the question "Why Jessie?"
Interestingly enough, there are actually two sides of that question. The first is why Jessie was the one who was attacked. We can look at it from the scientific standpoint and talk about the "facts." There are several factors that experts say contributed, such as the time of day, Jessie's separation from the others, and so on. However, the question still remains "Why Jessie?" | He's such a sweet, wonderful, happy-go-lucky child. He kept to himself in class, but he's intelligent and well-rounded. It's hard to believe something like this could happen." - Mona Perez, Jessie's 2nd grade teacher. |
| When we ask that question, we are assuming that there is an answer. We assume that events are not random, but everything has a cause. For many, that cause is God. This leads us perhaps to the real question of "Why did God let this happen to Jessie?" We can take this even further with God as the cause of everything in the universe and ask "Why did God make this happen to Jessie?" | |
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Because I do not want to debate whether God causes these things or
just lets them happen, I will leave the question at "Why did God let this
happen to Jessie?" That still is a rather big question to ask and it
seems to imply that it might not have been right of God to "let it
happen." ("How could he let such a terrible thing happen to such a nice boy?"
) However, if God is doing it, there has to be some good,
right? So, I think the better question would be "Where can we find the
good in all of this?"
On the surface, this is a terrible and tragic event, not only for Jessie, but for his entire family. When you move even the slightest bit past the surface, you find that this is a story of faith and love, which not only pulled a family together, but also communities. When you look at the amount of faith and love that poured out as a result of this tragedy, you see the true good of anything. | "We don't understand why things happen the way they do. Sometimes tragedies happen as a wake-up call to remind us all that life is precious, life is short and no one gets out alive." - The Rev. Martin J. Gillespie of St. Alphonsus, Ocean Springs, Mississippi. |
| The other question you might ask is "Why did you choose Jessie?" That is a legitimate question. There are so many uncounted and unnamed children suffering all over the world. Many are in worse shape than Jessie. Why him? | |
| Obviously, had Jessie been hit by a car like his brother several years ago, it might not have made the local news, let alone international news. The fact Jessie was attacked by a shark, his arm was retrieved from the sharks throat and successfully re-attached enthralls people. However, this is often just enough for that proverbial 15 minutes of fame. | |
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Although what Jessie has achieved is not fame, it has lasted more than 15
minutes. With comments from the doctor who carried Jessie in the helicopter
like "I was not optimistic" and then to have him survive and recover enough to
go home, is itself an amazing story and it enthralls people. However,
for me, that's not it.
For me, most of the significant aspects of Jessie's story happened outside the walls of his hospital, back in his home town and the neighboring communities. Jessie has the advantage of living in a relatively small community, where even if people do not know each other personally, there is still a feeling of (what else?) community. People help each other when they are in need. | That's what inspired me. That's what I was telling the nurse here. Unfortunately, it takes something like that to happen for you to say what can I do to help. And this is what you bring to them and I'm more than happy to do it." - Ocean Springs resident, Gregory Mohler. |
| In view of what happened at the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the question becomes even more pronounced. There are thousands of other people who have sufferered as a result of that tragedy. Why don't I pick one of them or donate to an aide organization like the Red Cross? | |
| Jessie's story shows us that such tragedies are not just news events; they are about real people, with real pain. Almost all of those who died on September 11 will remain faceless and nameless to the rest of us. It is almost a "coincidence" that their deaths occured during this "historic event" and we loose sight of the fact that these events affected real people. Jessie is not faceless, he is a real little boy who suffered. This helps to remind me that the people who died during the terrorist attacks were real people, as well. | |
| To me, Jessie's story also proves that there is still love in the world. People do care for each other, even if they have never met. People can help each other, if only they were willing. Jessie's story proves the power of love. We only need to be willing to see it. | |
| To some extent, both of these aspects may only answer the question of why I am so enthralled with Jessie's story. Still they do help answer the question of "Why Jessie?" One key aspect is that I do not want to this to end with Jessie's 15 minutes of fame. He deserves more. For a long time to come, the most dramatic event in the media will be the terrorist attack and its aftermath. For most people, Jessie has already faded into obscurity. | |
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In the first few days after the attack on Jessie, there was a new report every day on
the CNN web site (I don't know what was on TV, as I live in Germany). After about
a week, reports slowed to every other day. Then it was once a week. Then
Jessie was released from the hospital and after one more report about how the
doctors felt that home would be a good place for Jessie as the "sights and
sounds" of home might help further is recovery, Jessie faded from
view. We were flooded with the horrible images from New York and Washington.
Eventually, that too will become a memory and we will go back to the wars
and hurricanes and all the other "newsworthy" events and we forgot
about Jessie.
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Well, I don't want to forget about Jessie!
My son is Jessie. Although he is only 7 years old, my son's name is David, just like Jessie's middle name. My son likes pizza and Digimon. Just like Jessie. My son is such a sweet, wonderful, happy-go-lucky child. Just like Jessie. My son is intelligent, well-rounded and loves to run around with the kids in the neighborhood, squirting each other with water guns. Just like Jessie. I'm Jessie's parents. I feel the pain and fear. I want to reach out across the thousands of miles and tell them that they are not alone and that there are people out there who are concerned for Jessie, well beyond the 15 minutes. As Reverend Gillespie said, "It's hardest on the parents. They need our prayers." They have mine! And so does Jessie. |
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