When 16-year-old Jess was referred to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital for a bone marrow transplant – her last best chance at surviving leukemia – her family faced an impossible logistical reality. Jess’s story is one of extraordinary resilience. It is also a story about what happens when a community refuses to let families face a medical crisis alone.
Jess was first diagnosed at age 10, in 2019. For six years, her family – based in Lodi, California – traveled the long road of chemotherapy, hospital stays, and the relentless uncertainty of childhood cancer. When local options were exhausted in late 2025, Jess was referred to UCSF. On December 12, 2025, her mother Pati became her bone marrow donor. It was the most profound act of love, and it came with a cost: both mother and daughter needed months of recovery close to the hospital, while two younger brothers waited at home. That’s when the family’s social worker connected them with Family House.
Pati and Jess arrived on January 2nd, spared the two-hour daily commute that would have drained energy they simply couldn’t afford to lose. What they found was far more than a place to sleep: it was a supportive, caring home. A kitchen to cook in. Laundry machines. Volunteer-prepared meals. Jess’s brothers could visit and stay – close enough for connection, careful enough to protect Jess’s fragile immune system. The family celebrated the holidays together under one roof. Those memories, Pati says, are ones they will never forget.
It feels like home. I tell the friends I’ve met here — you’re part of my family now. Everyone says hello, everyone cares. It means so much to us. – Pati, Jess’s mother
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Peak into Jess’s Life
Jess shares her makeup routine and talks about life, produced by Bay Kids Studios. Watch below!
