Sam Gilmore and Jessica Taylor-Moreno have been bringing their 14-year-old daughter, Zanessa, to Omaha from Alliance, Neb., since February for cancer treatment. Zanessa is Jessica’s daughter and Gilmore’s stepdaughter, her husband, Nessa’s father, recently passed away. leaving Jessica and Sam to handle the whole situation alone. Before the initial diagnosis, everyone thought Zanessa had a sore throat. It turned out that Nessa had a rare type of tissue cancer in her throat: rhabdomyosarcoma. In February, she had her first surgery to remove the tumor, shortly after she had a second surgery, then came the first round of chemotherapy. Nessa now faces another 10 months of chemotherapy and also has to go through radiation treatment. “Zanessa has had some pretty hard knocks in her life, I mean this is another one,” said Sam Gilmore, Nessa’s stepmother. “She’s had some rough patches in her young life and has been through some things, but Zanessa continually teaches us to stay humble and positive.” Parents have been driving from Alliance to Omaha twice a month. On the way back to Alliance on a road trip, Jessica’s car caught fire on I-80, leaving the family without two vehicles. They always drove two in case Gilmore or Jessica had to leave early or stay late. They wanted flexibility. Without two vehicles, they lost him instantly. On Wednesday morning, that flexibility returned. “I said in the midst of all the storm, God definitely shines for us, He’s our guiding light without a doubt,” Gilmore said. Mike Lane with A Warriors Mission Inc. drove a car from Kansas City to give them to Jessica, Sam and Zanessa. “It’s always rewarding to do that, it always feels good,” Lane said. “But you can’t forget that to get to the good part, there’s always a bad part.” In June, Nessa will be at Omaha Children’s Hospital for daily treatment, which will last until August. The family remains positive, praising Nessa for her resilience and acknowledging how crucial her four siblings are in this journey. “She has her moments and we know that there are going to be tougher times and there are going to be tough times, but she’s just charging along,” Gilmore said. There is a fund set up through Consumers Cooperative FCU in Alliance where people can donate to help with travel and medical expenses. You can put any donation in the name of “Jessica Taylor-Moreno” or “Zanessa Taylor”. The bank number is 308-762-1871. You can also follow this link to access the bank’s website. Top Headlines Omaha police respond to assist with an officer’s call Wednesday after shots were fired into the crowd. Nebraska Legislature Opens First Round of Debates for ‘Heartbeat Act’ KETV Investigates: Bringing Bigger Grocery Store to Downtown Omaha
Sam Gilmore and Jessica Taylor-Moreno have been bringing their 14-year-old daughter, Zanessa, to Omaha from Alliance, Neb., since February for cancer treatment.
Zanessa is Jessica’s daughter and Gilmore’s stepdaughter, her husband, Nessa’s father, recently passed away leaving Jessica and Sam to handle the whole situation alone.
Before the initial diagnosis everyone was thinking about Zanessa [who goes by ‘Nessa’] I had a sore throat. It turned out that Nessa had a rare type of tissue cancer in her throat: rhabdomyosarcoma.
In February, she had her first surgery to remove the tumor, shortly after she had a second surgery, then came the first round of chemotherapy. Nessa now faces another 10 months of chemotherapy and also has to go through radiation treatment.
“Zanessa has had some pretty tough hits in her life, I mean this is another one,” said Sam Gilmore, Nessa’s stepmother. “She’s had some tough hits in her young life and has been through some things, but Zanessa continually teaches us to be humble and positive.”
Parents have been driving from Alliance to Omaha [a seven-hour drive one way] twice a month On the way back to Alliance on a road trip, Jessica’s car caught fire along I-80, leaving the family without two vehicles.
They always drove two in case Gilmore or Jessica had to leave early or stay late. They wanted flexibility. Without two vehicles, they lost him instantly.
On Wednesday morning, that flexibility returned.
“I said in the midst of all the storm, God is definitely shining for us, He’s our guiding light for sure,” Gilmore said.
Mike Lane with A Warriors Mission Inc. drove a car from Kansas City to give them to Jessica, Sam and Zanessa.
“It’s always rewarding to do that, it always feels good,” Lane said. “But you can’t forget that to get to the good part, there’s always a bad part.”
In June, Nessa will be at Omaha Children’s Hospital for daily treatment, which will last until August. The family remains positive, praising Nessa for her resilience and acknowledging how crucial her four siblings are in this journey.
“She has her moments and we know that there are going to be tougher times and there are going to be tough times, but she’s just charging along,” Gilmore said.
There is a fund set up through the FCU Consumer Cooperative in Alliance where people can donate to help with medical and travel expenses. You can put any donation in the name of “Jessica Taylor-Moreno” or “Zanessa Taylor”.
The bank number is 308-762-1871. You can also follow this link to access the bank’s website.
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