Jillian Massey’s whole life changed when she was four years old. She would visit the hospital rather than parks, gymnasiums, and toy stores after being diagnosed with cancer.
Jillian was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a severe form of brain and spine cancer, only two weeks after her fourth birthday. She was promptly admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she made numerous friends.
Jillian wishes to offer gifts to her pals at the Children’s Hospital in 2016. She had hoped to gather 50 to 100 items to give to them, but as word spread about her toy drive, she had almost 3000 presents to send to other children by December.
It was agonizing for her parents to watch her go through treatment, yet she made battling cancer appear effortless at four years old. She was easily distracted by toys, movies, and play, which her parents saw as a godsend since her illness had no effect on her mental health.
Jillian never questioned her parents. Rather, she greeted each day with a grin and made her aspirations a daily reality. While her treatment was harsh, she did not let it damper her spirits, and she stayed brave, pleasant, and compassionate throughout.
Jillian died when she was five years old as a result of her sickness. Janelle, Jillian’s mother, encouraged her fans not to be sad or regretful for her daughter’s death in a Facebook post, noting that cancer isn’t anyone’s fault.
Janelle was also relieved to learn that Jillian no longer experiences pain, rage, or grief, but just love and pleasure. Jillian never lost the war in her eyes since the tiny child had no idea she was fighting anything. She revealed that she gained the right to be a [five-year-old] teaching the world how to live without having to worry about battling a monster she had no idea existed or had a reasonable possibility of defeating. In the unknown, there is no struggle.
Janelle described her daughter as living life to the fullest. She took the gift of life and turned it into something that her dreams had previously been built of.
Jillian closed her eyes at around 8pm tonight and opened her wings to fly home to her tribe of angels today. It was…
Posted by Jillian Paige-You got this girl on Monday, 4 December 2017
Jillian told her parents before she died that she desired to gather 10,000 toys for sick children after their first toy drive was a success the year before. She believed that if toys made her happy during her treatment, it would make other children happy as well.
Jillian’s dream was never realized, but it was realized soon after her death, and her parents were able to give 10,000 toys to pediatric patients. Years later, her mission is still alive and well through Janelle’s Sassy Massey Smiles Foundation.
The foundation’s goal all year is to offer joy to youngsters in hospitals through gifts. It takes both in-kind and monetary donations and organizes yearly events and fundraisers to assist it meet its objectives.
Its purpose is to provide kilometers of smiles to sick children in order to promote Jillian’s generosity. The adorable little child once expressed to her parents that hospitals were a place of “joy and pleasure.” They want to ensure that, when kids are undergoing treatment in hospitals, they may have joy and happiness in the same manner that Jillian did.
They now do this all year round, rather than only at Christmas, thanks to everybody’s help. Janelle’s determination to carry on Jillian’s legacy has helped to shape the Sassy Massey Smiles Foundation into what it is today. Many organizations and businesses have also joined forces with their purpose to provide toys to as many pediatric patients as possible each year.
