Houston Family Walking From Disneyland To Walt Disney World To Honor Late Daughter

A family from Houston is going to honor a lost member of their family by going to places she loved to visit. After losing their young daughter to bone cancer, the Cobb family is going to honor her memory by taking a long cross-country walk from Disneyland in California to Walt Disney World in Florida.

My Fox Austin reported that Jonathan Cobb, his wife, Jennifer, and their three kids have been taking a walk for the past seven months. Jonathan, Jenna, and Jaxie have joined their parents and are taking this walk to honor Julia Cobb. The 8-year-old died from Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.

“We cry a lot, we walk a lot, we eat less, sleep less,” said Jennifer Cobb.

Julia, who the family called “Ju,” wasn’t the only one to fight the horrible diseases. Both Jennifer and Jonathan lost their mothers to it, and Jonathan has also battled cancer in his own life.

“My husband had to be the one to tell her that she had Cancer at the age of 6… and nobody should have to do that. So Ju was her nickname. And he told her the first 3 letters in Cancer are ‘CAN.’ And he said you do what you can do and let God do what you can’t do,” she said.

Young Julia’s response was one that was normal for her, even though it was hard on the rest of the family. Jonathan Cobb knew his daughter would be strong.

“Julia’s response was quite extraordinary, there were no tears from Julia. She said ‘You need to pray Dad and I’ll do my part.'”

For a full year and a half, Julia Cobb fought against bone cancer. She got a stem cell transplant that was almost a complete success, but then the cancer came back stronger, per CW39.

That was when the doctors made a point to say that Julia had never gotten a trip from Make-A-Wish, and that wasn’t how things should be. The family was put in touch with the foundation and headed to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, for the “best week of our lives.”

The trip ended sadly though; towards the conclusion of their trip, Julia Cobb woke up with a high fever and the family went to the hospital. She passed away within 24 hours.

“We then formulated a plan that we feel was God-inspired to walk across America with Ju’s ‘CAN’ message and just inspire other people, raise awareness for very underfunded pediatric Cancer that only gets 4% of money raised in this country,” Jennifer said.

In August, the Cobb family took off on the some-4,000-mile journey from Disneyland in Anaheim, California, with a final destination point of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. They want to show others that if “they didn’t give up, maybe I won’t.”

Jennifer said, “If that hasn’t broken us, if we still can… so can you.”

Throughout their journey, they have had a chase vehicle with them since their three young children often need to rest. At any given point, one parent will follow behind in their SUV while the others walk along.

Each day, they go 25 miles and are staying in hotel rooms donated to them and their cause. Along the way, their children are home-schooled or as they call it, “road-schooled.”

The Cobb family can be followed during their adventure, and you can donate by checking out jucanfoundation.org.

The Cobb family is hoping that they can raise awareness and money for pediatric cancer all while walking in the honor and memory of Julia Cobb. The walk from Disneyland to Walt Disney World may be a long one, but they know it is worth every single step of the journey.

[Image via Cobb Family]