Mother reflects on child’s cancer journey during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

DANIEL ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Jonny Adamson is a 7-year-old cancer warrior and survivor who loves to tell jokes.

“What did one wall say to the other? Meet you at the corner,” said Jonny during an interview with News 2.

His mother, Caroline Adamson, describes Jonny as a loving, fearless, and adorable child.

“You just don’t know what people are going through- sometimes children look perfectly fine on the outside,” said Caroline, who explains that the family has had their fair share of struggles after Jonny was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

“The long answer is that there have been some very, very difficult times and we’re still struggling with some difficult times,” Caroline added.

Jonny had brain surgery on Valentine’s Day earlier this year. The two have been on a long journey and are now on the road to recovery.

“It’s been about four years of trying to, you know, figure this out and we were thrilled where the surgery worked out,” said Jonny.

Caroline admits it’s the support of a local organization that’s helped them along the way.

“Sorry I’ll start crying, but Courageous Kidz is just so wonderful,” said Caroline.

Debby Stephenson is the founder and director of the local non-profit Courageous Kidz. It helps children and families with cancer by providing financial aid free, fun events.

“Sometimes parents think we’re just going to get through this. My child will get through this, and we’ll forget about it, and it will never happen again. That’s not true. It’ll affect you for the rest, it’s a life, a life sentence. So my message is, don’t lose hope, find resources, include yourself in them, include your children in these different resources. It’s important for your mental health,” said Stephenson who explains the disease not only affects the child, but the entire family.

“The way I look at it is we went through a really tough storm and we’re happy because now we think the clouds are moving away,” said Caroline.

September marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness of the devastating disease. To learn more about Courageous Kidz, please click here.