Photo courtesy of the Kids Shouldn't Have Cancer Foundation
Kimberly and Jonny Wade before brain cancer killed Jonny. Now, Kimberly Wade runs the Kids Shouldn't Have Cancer Foundation in honor of her son.
Kimberly Wade founded the Kids Shouldn’t Have Cancer Foundation a little over a year ago when her son Jonny Wade died at eight years old, after a 363-day fight with brain cancer. The time since his passing has been incredibly difficult for the Wades, but they made a promise to Jonny that they would make sure no other kid ever had cancer—and now that's their mission.
Recently, Wade, a resident of Jerseyville, Ill., received Jersey County's first Kringle award for her leadership and service for advocating for pediatric cancer.
Through her foundation's advocacy, Wade hopes to prevent other children from going through the same experience as Jonny. “He had crazy treatments. A full year of treatments. Over 30 radiation treatments on his brain and spine, which burnt him to a crisp,” Wade says. Her son also had six months of the strongest chemotherapy they give to children. Jonny lost half of his hearing and some of his memory to the radiation.
Wade says the ordeal was horrifying to their family. “Jonny was my mini-me. He was outgoing and never met a stranger,” Wade says. Not only did Jonny leave behind his parents, but also a twin brother named Jack.
Two months before his passing, Jonny told his mom he wanted a foundation and a cure for cancer. He repeatedly said he didn't want any other kid to have cancer, and Wade knew she had to honor his wishes.
The Kids Shouldn't Have Cancer Foundation was born with its butterfly logo. Wade remembers that when Jonny was passing, he spent his last days in bed, in and out of consciousness. Wade whispered to him that he should send butterflies to let her know he has near. That comment stuck with her. Every butterfly she sees—whether it’s a live one or a design on a pillow—she remembers her son.
When she was speaking with the brand company during the conception, they were discussing a logo and brought up St. Jude. Wade loved their logo, a child praying, and she said Jonny was very faithful. A man spoke up: the logo looked to him as if the child was waiting on a butterfly to come out of his hands.
Wade stopped all conversation. Immediately, she thought of the conversation about butterflies she had with Jonny, which no one else in the room knew about. She began to cry and said, “You just have to know that Jonny is here right now.”
In the days since, Wade and the KSHCF have made progress in the world of pediatric cancer.
“It’s important for Congress and society to understand that this is an epidemic and there’s over 300,000 children that will be diagnosed every year for cancer worldwide," Wade says, citing a figure confirmed by the World Child Cancer organization. "There’s just not enough attention to it."
KSHCF hosts an annual gala, a fun run, and a golf tournament to fundraise and raise awareness.
The KSHCF has also been successful in adding language to two separate bills that hold the National Cancer Institute accountable for their funds and increase the amount of money invested in childhood cancer research. In 2012, according to an internal report the NCI invested $208.1 million in research that benefits children, directly or peripherally. The institute's full budget that year was over $5 billion. Wade hopes to redirect funding so that about half benefits pediatric patients.
Wade accepted the Kringle award on her son’s behalf because, she says, he was the most influential person she had ever met. “He continues to influence people, even though he has passed—by his words and his mission, while he was here on Earth,” Wade says.
