AVON — When Jaycee Holeman ran onto the softball field a few weeks ago with her Riverside High School teammates, it was a moment she said she will never forget.
Softball is the only sport Jaycee, 15, plays, but it was taken away from her in November of 2018, the day before Thanksgiving, when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
The road to recovery was a long and grueling process, and Jaycee was finally diagnosed as 100 percent cancer free in April of last year. But, her fight was not over. She still had to keep working hard each day to get her strength back in order to be back on the field this spring.
When she played her first game, it was a moment of triumph for her and her family.
“We are amazed that the cancer never seemed to get her down,” said he mother, Jessica Holeman. “It’s a blessing from God to see her bounce back stronger than ever.”
There were many nights, Jaycee said, she wondered if she would ever get to step back on the field. But, Jaycee and her parents kept their faith. They knew that one day God would let her be a regular teenager again, and she would get to take joy in all the things she once loved, like playing the game of softball.
“It felt so awesome to be back on the field with my teammates,” Jaycee, a freshman said. “This has definitely taught me that God has a plan for me, and that when you keep praying he can answer your prayers.”
It is this faith, Jaycee said, that makes her know that the current coronavirus crisis will one day pass, and she will get to be back on the softball field again with her teammates, like best friend Lexi Kilgore. All high school sports in the state of Mississippi were suspended last week because of the current crisis.
“Right now I am keeping busy by doing school work and spending time with my family, but I cannot wait to start playing again,” she said.
