'Never Give Up': Heartbreak as Brave 12-year-old Cancer Blogger Loses Battle to Brain Tumor

I found this on Philip Johnson's blog. Please keep the soul of this young girl and her family in your prayers.

Just days before Jessica Joy Rees lost her heartbreaking battle with brain tumors, her parents wrote on their blog about how they were excited for a great 2012.


They were confident that the 12-year-old girl would reach her goal of making 50,000 of her 'Joy Jars' which were filled with candy and toys for sick children. They were exploring other medical treatments in Europe and out of reach of the FDA. They continued to pray and encouraged others to do the same.
Unfortunately, their prayers were answered differently than they hoped. 'We have prayed and prayed and prayed for sweet Jessie to be healed here on earth but God's plan was to use heaven for healing,' they wrote on Facebook when Jessie died on Thursday....


The Orange County seventh-grader, called 'Jessie' by family and friends, began her blog and Facebook page after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in March [2011]. A second tumor was discovered in September. While some of her posts discussed her struggles as she underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments, others urged readers in dozens of countries to support pediatric cancer research and to pray for other children with the illness. She always signed her posts with the acronym 'NEGU', short for 'never ever give up.'


Also, she and her parents started The NEGU Foundation, a nonprofit organization to raise awareness of pediatric cancer, support sufferers and raise money for research. The foundation sold and provided thousands of 'JoyJars' stuffed with candy and toys to sick children. More than 3,000 were sold and distributed in 27 states last year, according to the NEGU website.


Jessica wrote on Facebook that her mission was 'to encourage kids fighting cancer to Never Ever Give Up by spreading hope, joy and love. A cheerful heart is great medicine.' After a particularly hard day in November, Jessica took to her website, jessicajoyrees.com, to admonish her pain and focus on her love for all that she did still have in her life.
'I love spreading joy to kids with our JoyJars. I love reading all of the posts on Facebook. I love having so many people praying for me. I love that people are supporting NEGU and allowing us to help kids. I love my family and all of my new friends,' the 12-year-old wrote.

Her funeral was held last Wednesday in her local town, where her father is a pastor. Let's keep her soul and her family in our prayers!