THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 3, 1996 TAG: 9611010210
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: COVER STORY
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 109 lines
HEY, EMMITT SMITH, listen up.
Jardain Copeland, age 12, has a question for you:
Why do you run straight up the middle and not to the side?
And one-on-one, the famed Dallas Cowboys running back explained his strategy to the smiling boy, who has leukemia.
The answer? ``If he did go to the outside, they'd come and hit him.''
The exchange with Smith was a dream come true, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which has been making dreams come true since 1980.
Despite its pleasantness, it's not the kind of thing for which parents want their children to be eligible.
It requires that the youngster have a life-threatening or terminal illness.
Jardain has acute lymphoblastic leukemia, an over-proliferation of abnormal white blood cells.
His body is unable to produce the normal white cells that fight infection, or the red cells that prevent anemia, making him highly susceptible to infection.
Jardain's mother, Beverly, a nurse's aide, remembers well the date of diagnosis - Nov. 22, 1995.
``I was gettin' tired, and my nose started bleeding for no reason,'' Jardain said.
``The lymph nodes in his neck, and his stomach, liver and spleen were all swollen,'' his mother said. ``Before this, he'd never been sick.''
She said he was first diagnosed with strep throat, but the antibiotics didn't work. When blood was taken for a test, it clotted before it got to the lab.
Copeland decided to take her son to Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters in Norfolk, where, she said, ``he was correctly diagnosed.''
And ``From that point, he went downhill. On Thanksgiving Day, he was put on a machine to help him breathe better. His brain was swelling so much, by the time he was correctly diagnosed the disease had taken over his body. The misdiagnosis hurt.''
The diagnosis frightened Jardain, a laid-back, good-natured youngster who speaks quietly - speaking after a little prodding from his mother.
``I thought about dying, how I'd miss my family. I wasn't ready to die,'' he said.
``He was in such bad shape,'' his mother remembered. ``If I hadn't taken him to the hospital when I did, he could have died.''
Jardain returned home Dec. 30, but has yet to return to school. He is a seventh-grader at Forest Glen Middle School.
``I really miss school,'' he said. ``At home, there's nothing doing.''
There is an obvious bond between mother and son. Check the plaque Jardain made: ``I love you mom.''
Ask him to pose with mom, he grins and unhesitatingly puts his arm around her.
Both have a lot to smile about.
``Jardain is in remission,'' Copeland said. ``He has about two more years of chemotherapy, then he's expected to get back to normal.''
He visits King's Daughters three times a week for the chemo treatments, the Salvation Army church for prayer and support.
``Jardain is doing very well. He's adjusted well to the treatment,'' said Dr. Rebecca Byrd. ``He may be restricted from contact sports. Other than that, he'll be able to do what he wants to do.''
He wants to be like his hero - he wants to be on the football field.
``Mr. Smith's my favorite player,'' Jardain said. ``One day, I want to grow up and be like him.''
The thrill of being with the football player has not abated. It is still the 12-year-old's favorite topic of conversation, and he is only too happy to show you his scrapbook and talk about his favorite sport.
Jardain was able to visit Smith thanks to Make-A-Wish and the local co-sponsor, the Suffolk Jaycees, who kicked in $500.
Hero and worshipper got together in September at Valley Ranch in Irvine, where the Cowboys train.
``I'm a Dallas fan, I'll always be a Dallas fan,'' said Jardain who, along with Spencer Witte of Norfolk, Neb., another Make-A-Wish recipient, spent about 30 minutes with Smith.
``We saw the Dallas-Giants game. We had a box seat behind the field goal,'' the Suffolk youngster said. ``We went on the field before the game and waved at the players. And, we met Jerry Jones, who owns the Cowboys.''
Mostly, they kept their hero busy. Smith signed football cards, a cap, a book, a newspaper and T-shirts including one owned by Jardain's grandmother, Mary Frances Langston.
She went on the trip along with his mother and his 10-year-old brother, Michael.
``We stayed at the Doubletree Inn and we ate in different restaurants each day,'' Jardain said. ``It's the best thing that ever happened to me - absolutely.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos by TISHA SCHWARTZ
In September Jardain Copeland, right, met Emmitt Smith, thanks to
Make-A-Wish and the Suffolk Jaycees.
Spencer Witte, a Make-A-Wish recipient from Nebraska, and Jardain
Copeland have fun with shark puppets.
Graphic
HOW MAKE-A-WISH WORKS
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to selected children,
between the ages of 2 1/2 to 18 years old, with terminal or
life-threatening illnesses.
Children may be referred by teachers, friends, family members or
medical professionals.
Representatives visit the children and ask them their wishes.
The organization does not grant wishes for motorized vehicles,
capital improvements or debt reduction.
For more information, call 1-800-895-9474. by CNB