Honoring baby Jazmine: A beautiful light that burned so bright now brings hope to families

Jazmine faced her battle with unwavering courage and a smile that could light up any room.

PUBLISHED OCT 10, 2024

The event is a memorial organized to remember Jazmine and to support families currently facing similar battles.

Phoenix, Arizona: In what is sure to be a heartbreaking moment, tinged with hope and filled with love, this Saturday hikers will gather at North Mountain in a tribute to Jazmine, a little girl who lost her life to leukemia at just 16 months old. The event is a memorial organized to remember Jazmine and to support families currently facing similar battles.

Jazmine Elane Reiter, born on December 17, 2018, touched many hearts with her incredible bravery and enduring spirit. Despite being diagnosed with infant leukemia at just six months old, she faced her battle with unwavering courage and a smile that could light up any room.

The Reiter family emphasize the need for better care and more treatment options for children facing cancer. (Pic: Jazmine's Journey)

Throughout her 10-month journey of battling cancer, she remained resilient and positive, even in the face of challenging treatments. Her time was largely spent in hospitals, undergoing numerous blood product transfusions, bone marrow aspirations, and various chemotherapy treatments. Sadly, Jazmine passed away at the age of 16 months on May 5, 2020, surrounded by her loving family.

To keep her memory alive and to channel their grief into something positive, her family established 'Jazmine’s Journey', an organization dedicated to raising funds for families dealing with childhood cancer.

'Jazmine's Hike', set to begin at the North Mountain Visitor Center, serves not just as a remembrance of the little girl but also as a beacon of hope for others in similar situations. Through 'Jazmine’s Journey', the event aims to gather support and raise money for families struggling with the challenges of childhood cancer, offering them some relief in their toughest times.

The Reiter family emphasize the need for better care and more treatment options for children facing cancer. They highlight a gap in funding for childhood cancer research, pointing out that despite medical advancements, options for treating young patients remain limited. They noted that institutions like the Phoenix Children's Hospital and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are not receiving as much funding as needed to push forward significant breakthroughs in cancer treatment.

Jazmine’s Journey has become a lifelong mission for the Reiters, driven by their desire to honor the memory of their daughter.

"Treatment options like chemotherapy can be incredibly harsh on young children, and the younger they are, the more difficult it is for them to fight," said a family representative. They stressed that additional funding is crucial to advancing research that could lead to new and less invasive treatments.

The event at North Mountain is not just about raising funds—it's also about raising awareness. The family hopes that by sharing Jazmine’s story, they can inspire more people to join the fight against childhood cancer. Their mission is to ensure that no other family has to endure the pain of losing a child to a disease that might be curable with more resources and research.

Jazmine’s Journey has become a lifelong mission for the Reiters, driven by their desire to honor the memory of their daughter and to make a lasting impact in the world of childhood cancer research.