Marty Griffin
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NewsTranscript
00:00This one, it sits right here in my heart.
00:04We're at Children's.
00:06Three years ago, I spent a lot of time,
00:09a lot of time with this beautiful young girl, 13-year-old,
00:12named JC, who had cancer, brain cancer.
00:16And there was a lot of fear that she would die.
00:18Honestly, we had a big birthday party for her,
00:20and all of you folks helped.
00:22And then she got better somewhat.
00:25She's 16 now, and unfortunately, we're back here at Children's,
00:29and she's sick again.
00:32We want to help her again.
00:34We want to help her feel better.
00:35We want to talk to her.
00:36We want to talk to her mom and her family.
00:38And we want us to all help send her on a very special trip,
00:41and she's here right now getting better, we hope.
00:47Mommy, say hi, Marty Griffin.
00:50How are you, JC?
00:51Good.
00:52You okay?
00:53Yeah.
00:54What do you have here?
00:55What is this?
00:56Fries.
00:57Original support fries.
01:00What the heck is that, JC?
01:04Say, when you feel bad, you can rip it and throw it.
01:09How are you feeling, darling?
01:11Okay.
01:12If you want hugs, you can hug it.
01:14And squish it.
01:15And squish it.
01:16Do you remember us coming to your house with Santa?
01:20Do you remember?
01:21Yeah.
01:22You do?
01:23Do you remember the big birthday party we had for you?
01:25Yeah.
01:26So, mom tells me that you want to go someplace cool.
01:29What's the deal?
01:30Where do you want to go?
01:32Can you remember the name of it?
01:36America Mall.
01:40Mall of America.
01:42America.
01:43And this is where you want to go?
01:45Yeah.
01:46Are you in pain, my dear?
01:47No, not today.
01:48You're not today, but have you been?
01:51No.
01:52No?
01:53Sorry, mom.
01:54You don't have to be sorry to me.
01:55Yeah, darling.
01:56It's okay.
01:57You're doing great.
01:58We're going to talk to mom.
01:59So, we're here with children.
02:01Excuse me.
02:03And the last time we really saw you was three years ago.
02:08Correct.
02:09This is Marcy, her mom.
02:11And she was sick.
02:13Had brain cancer.
02:14Yeah.
02:15And it was touch and go.
02:18Right.
02:19It traveled to her spine.
02:22It was considered leptomeningeal disease.
02:25And here we are three years later.
02:27Yeah.
02:28You're, what's the word, stressed again.
02:32Overwhelmed, stressed, can't label it anything.
02:36Marcy, you've been here with children for how long?
02:40Saturday, a week ago.
02:42And she's being diagnosed as being sick again.
02:44Yes, yes.
02:45And we're all, you're very concerned.
02:47Yes.
02:48Right?
02:49Yeah.
02:50How do you get through this stuff?
02:53Prayers.
02:54Yeah.
02:55And one day at a time.
02:56All we can do is put one foot in front of the other.
02:58You're a very optimistic woman from the first time I met you.
03:02Yes.
03:03But it's hard, and I don't want to speak for you, but I've been around a lot of mothers.
03:09She's probably more important to you than anything in the world.
03:12You're right.
03:13Right?
03:14Yes.
03:15You haven't left this room in how long?
03:17At least nine days.
03:19Nine days.
03:20Yeah.
03:21And what's your biggest concern?
03:24We're not going to have her long.
03:26Yeah.
03:27I can't do this.
03:29It's okay.
03:31We want to talk about this making her happy.
03:35Okay.
03:36And so tell us, because she's very nervous right now, we haven't talked to her in a while,
03:40but tell us what she really wants to do, because we want to help do that, facilitate that.
03:45She wants to go to Mall of America.
03:47Who doesn't?
03:49I don't know where the idea came from.
03:51Hold on a second.
03:52How long did you tell me it takes to walk around that damn mall?
03:56It says, because it's so big, it's 44 to 48 hours.
04:00And I don't know if we could do that.
04:02JC, are you ready to walk around a mall for 48 hours?
04:05They're gorgeous.
04:06Are you now?
04:07No.
04:08You know they have rides there.
04:10Yeah.
04:11They have like a Kennywood inside there.
04:13Because I want to go to one of the malls.
04:17Yeah, Mall of America.
04:19It was a place.
04:22Yeah.
04:23Where you want to sleep.
04:24Where do you want to sleep?
04:26Do you remember it?
04:28Yeah, the Great Wolf Lodge.
04:29Yes.
04:30Yes, very cool.
04:31Great Wolf Lodge.
04:32Yes.
04:33This is my dream.
04:34It's your dream.
04:35Because I always wanted to go on a family vacation.
04:39It would be me, my brother, my dad, and my mom.
04:44Because this is what I really want.
04:49Alright, so, maybe a stupid question, but if we get this going,
04:55and get this together, is she physically able to do this?
04:58Doctor says if we do it soon.
05:01Yeah?
05:02Yeah.
05:03Who organized this Great Wolf thing?
05:06Well, I'm entrusting my friend Maddie.
05:10Maddie, come over here please, Maddie.
05:11She takes care of the J.C. Strong because I can't right now.
05:14Right.
05:15So, Maddie, right here.
05:16Tell everybody who you are.
05:17Hi, I'm Maddie.
05:18And you have really kind of helped a lot.
05:21I try.
05:22Yeah, yeah, from the very beginning, for a couple years now.
05:25Yeah.
05:26J.C. Strong means what?
05:27J.C.'s my best friend, so, yeah, I got her the tattoo.
05:32Hi, J.C.
05:33You have a tattoo?
05:34Yeah, she wrote me a letter.
05:35She actually wrote that.
05:36That is her signature.
05:38Yes.
05:39Yeah.
05:40What does it say?
05:41Best friend forever.
05:42Love, J.C.
05:43Mm-hmm.
05:44Is that a real tattoo?
05:45Yeah.
05:46Yeah.
05:47My goodness, that is amazing.
05:48Yeah.
05:50That is a friend.
05:51It is, yeah.
05:52Hi, J.C.
05:53Wow.
05:54She's family.
05:55She's more than a friend.
05:56So tell us about this trip.
05:57What are you trying to pull together here?
05:59Just getting her there in a timely manner.
06:03Obviously, funds are hard to make, so we need the community's help, too.
06:07So you got to get to the Mall of America.
06:09Is that Minneapolis?
06:10Somewhere in Minnesota.
06:11Yeah, yeah.
06:12I don't know exactly where, but.
06:13Yeah, Minneapolis area.
06:14It has an amusement park inside, then this Great Wolf Lodge.
06:17Kids love staying there.
06:18Yeah.
06:19Right?
06:20Mm-hmm.
06:21And when do you want to do this?
06:22I'd probably say within at least December.
06:26Before Christmas?
06:27Yeah, before Christmas, because time.
06:30All right, so you'll get us the link and everything, and we'll help you get.
06:33But you're trying to raise how much?
06:35I put $10,000 on her GoFundMe, because I figured it'd be both of that, plus whatever's left over.
06:40I see.
06:41For travel and everything else.
06:42Travel, yeah.
06:43Spending shopping money.
06:44Right, Jace?
06:45Jace, he loves to shop.
06:46How do you, because obviously you have deep love for her, how do you manage the emotions of this,
06:51the rollercoaster that she's been up and down through?
06:53I don't know.
06:55You don't?
06:56We talk.
06:57Remember you said about you just want to go scream somewhere.
06:59Yeah, scream, just like.
07:01Oh, whoa, whoa.
07:02Oh, whoa, whoa.
07:03We can't do that.
07:04Of course.
07:05We'll get rid of that.
07:06Yeah, yeah.
07:07So, all right, so we're in this with you, and we're going to do everything we can.
07:13I hate the fact that this is how we reunite under these circumstances, quite frankly.
07:17Exactly.
07:18Like, I thought we were never going to be back here.
07:21That I'd never have to annoy you again.
07:23No, no, no.
07:24Sweet little Jacey.
07:25She loves you.
07:26Who doesn't?
07:28Jacey, we're going to make this happen for you, all right, sweetheart?
07:32Yeah.
07:34All right, folks, so.
07:35Can you look up?
07:36Everyone rocks.
07:37Everyone rocks.
07:38Everyone rocks.
07:39Rock on, people.
07:41Rock on, people.
07:42Tell them, Jacey, say it again.
07:44Rock on, people.
07:47Sixteen years old, and battling right now, quite frankly.
07:52It's very difficult, quite frankly, to see, because she's a beautiful, beautiful girl.
07:56We'll have links to the site, and we'll have more as this story evolves.
08:00We'll be talking to Mom and Jacey and all of her family and friends.
08:03All right, folks.
08:04Hope we can all help make this happen.