Page 8 - Florida Sentinel 7-13-18

Local
Firefighter Amazed At Support Received Since Daughter Was Diagnosed With Leukemia
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
A Firefighter/Paramedic with the Temple Terrace Fire Depart- ment is still overwhelmed by the outpouring of support he and his daughter have received over the past several months.
Jesse Oats, a Tampa native, and his 19-year-old daughter, Je- lessa Oats learned in March that she has Acute Monoblastic Leukemia (AML), a fast growing leukemia.
Oats, who has been with the Temple Terrace Fire Dept. since 2011, says it was his fellow fire- fighters, Rick Santos and Dave Burton, who actually got the ball to rolling to get some financial as- sistance for Jelessa. They in- volved the City of Temple Terrace, firefighters and local businesses.
“The Lord used them to reach so many others,” who have been supportive of efforts to raise funds to supply the medical needs for Jelessa,” he explained.
Channel 8 News Anchor, Rod Carter has aired her story on dif- ferent occasions. But it was Fuzzy’s Tacos that hosted a fundraiser on June 2nd for 4 hours. During that time, the busi-
JELESSA OATS
ness donated 15% of its sales to Jelessa. The business presented the Oats family a check in the amount of $11,517.
“The bill at the doctor’s office was not covered. When we walked in and asked how much we owed, it was $11,044.89, but that did not include services for that day,” he said. Each visit to the doctor’s office is $1,250.
“I had originally thought that if anything was left over, we could take Jelessa shopping. Since she’s been ill she has lost some
JESSE OATS
weight. But when I learned we needed to pay the bill for that day’s service, that was the end of that idea.” With the amount left on the check and some additional donations, Oats was able to pay off that day’s service.
The Buccaneers pitched in to help with the fundraiser: Gerald McCoy donated a signed football to be auctioned; Jameis Win- ston donated a jersey for auction; and Josh Robinson was there while the fundraiser was going on.
When Jelessa learned that she had cancer, she wanted to avoid chemotherapy treatments. She wanted to boost her immune system with Detox and natural supplements, which are not cov- ered by insurance.
In addition to learning of the cancer in March, Jelessa had been accepted into the Nurse Practitioner Program at St. Pe- tersburg College. The bright young lady, who has an interest in Classical Music, graduated from Osceola High School at age 14 with a 4.0 GPA, and entered St. Pete College at age 15. Jelessa is also the daughter of Wendy Rouse Atkins.
Her dad, the son of Betty Oats and the late Jesse Oats, graduated from Maranatha Chris- tian School, the University of South Florida, and played football in Europe. He, too, is a musician.
Although grateful for the do- nations, Jelessa continues to need treatment. The family has set up a go fund me account (Help Jelessa Beat Leukemia), and at last checking the amount was listed at $4,328 of a $10,000 g0al.
The Go Fund Me account is: https://www.gofundme.com/hel pjelessabeatleukemia.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2018