Karina Lin (11) and Julia Pene (11) string together some of the 1,00 cranes that they and their friends made for their friend Jayson Adams. Lin and Pene decided to start making the 1,000 paper cranes for Jayson after he was diagnosed with sarcoma and acute myeloid leukemia.
A thousand origami paper cranes held together by strings is widely known by ancient Japanese legends to grant one wish to those who fold them; a wish that could mean a longer life or even successful recovery from illness or injury.
For Julia Pene (11) and Karina Lin (11), a thousand paper cranes doesn’t just mean a simple wish. They symbolize the unconditional support and respect that they want to show their friend: Jayson Adams.
Adams attended Westview during the last half off his freshman year after he was diagnosed with a type of rare cancer on December 8, 2011. It was sarcoma, which is the cancer of the connective tissues, such as nerves, muscles, fat, joints, and bone.
With each fold and crease, Pene and Lin would lead more than 80 people to join them in their goal of making 1,000 paper cranes for Adams.
“The idea came to me because Jayson was constantly on my mind and after seeing how amazingly strong he is and how encouraging his family is, I knew if anyone deserved such support, it was Jayson,” Lin said.
Pene and Lin teamed up and worked to spread the word about Adams. The moment that the idea sparked within Lin, they went out that very night to purchase origami paper and began asking a few friends to help them.
Publicizing their mission on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter triggered the support of even more people all around them. Those people retweeted their tweets and shared their Facebook posts.
“We just wanted to let Jayson and his family know how many people he has positively affected,” Pene said.
Esther Lin (10), a very close friend of Adams has been by his side all the way from the very beginning. She met him during eighth-grade P.E. and their friendship grew through the years.
Not long after she met him, he was in unexplainable pain for a month before he went to the doctor to check it out. The day Adams was diagnosed with cancer, he told Esther the news.
“It was a numb feeling,” Esther said. “I knew something was going on, but I never thought, in a million years, that it would be cancer.”
He had been in and out of the hospital depending on his chemotherapy schedule for much of the next year. It wasn’t until last month that Adams would have to spend the longest amount of time in the hospital.
Upon entering the hospital in September, Adams was diagnosed with another type of cancer called acute myeloid leukemia in which the bone marrow makes an abnormal amount of white blood cells.
Although times have been tough, Esther is determined to stay positive for Adams and herself.
“It has been an emotional rollercoaster, but the whole thing makes me feel blessed and really appreciate that I have and my health,” Esther said. “I also really appreciate the kind of family Jayson has as well.”
As those weeks went on, many of his friends and family came and visited at the hospital. Despite the circumstances, everyone still came to support him and keep him in their prayers. Esther makes sure that she visits Adams regularly and she also has grown close with his family in the process.
“To say Jayson and his family are special is an understatement,” Esther said. “He truly has one of the best families around.”
Jessie Adams, Jayson’s mom even created a blog to keep their friends and families updated on his current state.She posts almost daily about his whereabouts and those who affect him, such as his doctors, nurses and visitors.
She encourages all to “walk with Jayson as he battles cancer,” and asks his family and friends to support him and keep him in their prayers. Adams’ mom has been with him all the way through every blood transfusion and examination.
“Sometimes, I just sit there staring at him in awe and admiration. Here he was fighting for his life, but he was still happy,” Jessie said.
Jayson’s influence has not stopped at just his friends and family. His positive vibes have spread throughout the community and even across the nation.
Many of those who make cranes for Jayson are just eager to do what they can for him. It is not just students and their parents at Westview, but alumni have been mailing cranes to Pene and Lin from places such as San Francisco, Arizona, and New York.
There are even students at Del Norte High School who have contributed to the cause.
“At first, I thought it would only be Julia and I plus a few other people making the cranes,” Karina said. “Never did I imagine that more than 80 people would volunteer to help make them as well.”
The whole experience of making cranes showed Karina that one person, Adams, could have the ability to affect so many people.
“He showed me how strong a person can be even when they’ve gone through so much,” Pene said. “Hearing stories about him from his mom or friends has been truly life-changing.”
Adams has gone to speak to teenagers just like him about what he has gone through. He typically says something like, “Some people ask why this is happening to me, but I think of it more as why God chose me to still be fighting and living.” To his peers and his family, he is a true inspiration.
The past weeks have truly been the hardest for Adams and his family, but they continue to look up and stay positive. He has determination and drive to get better every day.
“He has such an optimistic attitude,” Karina said. “Reading his mom’s blog about his strength to fight was such an encouragement and often brought tears to my eyes.”
The thousand paper cranes are not the only way Westview students have shown their support for Adams throughout his ongoing journey.
Esther and Mrs. Draper, a biology teacher here at Westview, made posters a few weeks ago for Adams so that his classmates could sign it. Every person wrote a brief note so that Adams could see that his friends were thinking of him. Even such a small deed can touch a person’s heart.
For Esther, Adams has been a major part of her life and he never failed to be there for her through the ups and downs to cheer her up. He would always lighten her mood and keep her positive attitude going.
“I’m really glad that people are able to support him through such a tough time,” Esther said.
At the Mt. Carmel football game, Jayson’s positive spirit carried on. During some points in the game, the cheerleaders held up signs that said, “Keep fighting Jayson! Westview loves you,” and the crowd rumbled as it rooted for Adams.
“It was really just heartwarming and surreal to see that many people cheering on Jayson as he battles cancer,” Pene said.
As soon as they finish within the next weeks, they plan on surprising him with the cranes in the comfort of his home. They want to show Jayson that he is such an influential person to everyone around him.
“Jayson said that he wanted to make people happy and that he wanted to be an inspiration to others,” Jessie said. “Well, Jayson has been making us happy and is inspiring us with his powerful story, his admirable strength and his enduring faith.”
