A True Warrior Will Be Missed, RIP Jessica

If you were to look up the definition of the word "Warrior" in the dictionary, here is what you would find:

"A person who shows or has shown great vigor, courage or aggressiveness"

I know a true warrior, her name is Jessica. Jessica and her husband James are the founders of the triathlon team I have had the pleasure of racing with the past two years. The team was founded as a cancer awareness group that wantedt o bring the fight to cancer. One of the great things about the team that I liked was that it was not solely about racing. While the team did have the same requirements that most teams have regarding amount of races and such, it also asked that you do something else. Pay it forwards projects.

These pay it forward projects were aimed at supporting cancer patients and survivors. They really asked us to do simple things like yard work, help clean houses, take meals to people and to simply provide snack baskets to people that were going through chemo treatments. It was designed to put others first and look outside yourself.

No couple does that better than James and Jessica. They always had something going on, and it normally focused on other people. Even with their busy lives, they are both physical trainers and endurance athletes, they found time to focus on others. And did I mention that Jessica was also in a fight against breast cancer? Yes, while Jessica was battling cancer, she still found time to worry about others first. What an amazing couple.

Well, Jessica finally lost her battle with cancer on Saturday April 12. She had fought hard for over 5 years that I have known them, and everytime, she would bounce back with a smile. Never once would you hear a complaint from her and she would always have that smile on her face. Jessica is also a God fearing, Jesus loving woman. That would be the first thing that I think she would have told you about herself, not that she was a cancer survivor, or that she ran marathons or was a trainer, but that she had a strong faith that many of us cannot even claim. Please take a minute and watch this video clip about Jessica...



I know people like to throw around terms like warriors and such to describe themselves,but Jessica was a true Warrior in every sense of the word and she will be truly missed and she impacted so many people in such a positive way. Rest in Peace Jessica.