Jasmine Monroe signed her daughter up for the Greenville Triathlon despite her objections.
Monroe saw it as an opportunity to boost her daughter, eight-year old Jerimya Leasure,’s confidence. Leasure initially refused, not wanting to participate.
Monroe knew it would be hard for her daughter, who had already overcome a spinal cord tumor removal. And yet, she saw it as an opportunity to boost Leasure’s confidence in herself and her body.
After nearly giving in, Monroe called event co-organizer Kris Berry and informed her that they were still in. Everything culminated later in the day, when Leasure ran across the finish line cementing her completion of the event.
This was no easy task for Leasure, who has spent much of her youth relearning simple body functions due to the extent of the tumor. However, with the help of her family and others along the way, she finished the race.
“We’re really, really proud of her,” Monroe said. “It strengthens her so much. Just her confidence and her leg muscles and everything that we’re working on.”
Diagnosed with the tumor at just four, Leasure faced an uphill battle. Monroe remembers long hours where Leasure wouldn’t move, meaning she’d have to be carried everywhere she wanted to go.
“She basically just laid on the couch and wasn’t able to be a four-year old,” Monroe said.
Leasure had the surgery to have an 8-inch spinal cord tumor, diagnosed as a pilocyctic astrocytoma with anaplastic features, on March 16, 2017. Despite a successful surgery, Leasure was not guaranteed the ability to walk again.
To combat this, Leasure spent many hours working with therapists at Mary Freebed in Grand Rapids. Leasure relearned how to use her hands and feet again. Once she completed a series of milestones, such as sitting up and brushing her hair, she was discharged from the hospital but still returned on an outpatient basis.
One aspect Monroe noticed in her daughter was how uncomfortable she was riding a bike. When she saw the triathlon returning, she signed Jerimya up with hopes of boosting her confidence and comfortability.
“I signed her up to get her more comfortable on the bike,” Monroe said. “To have the social interaction with the other kids riding beside her.”
Additionally, the triathlon offered a water component. This was another area where Leasure had struggled, and her mother viewed it as a chance to grow.
“She was terrified of water growing up,” Monroe said. “We’ve been doing swim lessons and everything to get her better at that also and slowly build up her tolerance for that as well.”
When she approached her daughter about the event, Monroe said Leasure was not interested.
“Mom, I don’t want to do it,” Monroe recalls Leasure telling her, matter-of-factly.
The night before the event, Monroe called Berry to inform her of the possibility that Leasure may not do the event. Monroe was worried about the toll the event would have on her daughter’s body.
“When you’re a parent, you want them to do good but at the same time you don’t want to traumatize them and you don’t want them to get discouraged if you push them too far. ,” Monroe said. “And that’s what I was worried I might do with going the whole 2.2 miles.”
After evaluating the decision, Monroe decided to go through with it.
Leasure completed the first portion, swimming, with the help of others in the water. Once that wrapped up, Leasure hopped onto her bike and pedaled as Monroe pushed. Together, the two went the entire two miles around Bowen Lake.
When that was over, it was time for the final stretch. Monroe’s fiancé, Jason, ran side-by-side with Leasure for the final leg. The two crossed the finish line together, smiling.
“It was really uplifting,” Monroe said. “I’m glad she was able to overcome her fears a little bit and know that she did it. She could do it. And that maybe she didn’t have all the confidence that she would be able to finish or she wanted to stop, but she was able to do it.”