A few weeks ago Marcus Josey was at his girlfriend’s house when he felt something strange. “I just had terrible back pain. It was like no pain I’d ever felt before,” said Marcus.
Then he began to get uncontrollable nose bleeds that would last for hours. “I finally went to the emergency room for the nose bleeds trying to get it to stop. And then I found out I had Leukemia. I took it much better than my mom did,” said Marcus.
His mother Josey said, “It’s been overwhelming. We are really fortunate because we do have a really large family. He’s one of seven children and our extended family has been amazing.”
Family members from Philadelphia to Florida flew in immediately to be with Marcus. The 17-year old junior at North Eastern High School also plays football and basketball. His teammates, friends and the entire community are behind him. "A lot of people have came out and told me how much they care about me and I didn't feel that way before. I didn't think I had as much care and as much support as I did," said Marcus.
After the diagnosis he immediately began chemotherapy at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital. "They had a team of doctors ready to go and they've been with him throughout the weekend. So that made us feel a little bit better. Not that the situation is great, but it's helpful," said Marcus' father Jamiel. Doctors say Marcus has an eighty percent chance of beating Leukemia and will have to undergo treatment for the next several months, but he's ready for a fight and despite the adversity he's got a pretty good perspective.
"There's so many perks at the hospital and they're like oh well you still have leukemia and I'm just like well yeah, but I get all this free food and free slushies and stuff like that. I just try and look at all the positives that I have here around me," said Marcus. After he beats Leukemia Marcus said he'll go to college. He's been looking at Cornell and Harvard. "It's a long road but hes going to get healthy. I'm going to have a sigh of relief when one of those same colleges that was interested in him because he's athletic and smart is just as interested in him if he can't necessarily contribute to the team," said his mother.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DONATE TO HELP MARCUS' FAMILY PAY FOR MEDICAL BILLS CLICK HERE.
