Kayla Smith, left, a brain tumor survivor, poses as an artist for the calendar. Reid Smith (right) as a Ponte Vedra lifeguard. (photos submitted)

The mission of the Tom Coughlin Jay Fund is to assist children with leukemia and other cancers by providing emotional and financial support to help reduce the stress associated with treatment.

Paying for an umbilical cord blood transplant or a college scholarship for a cancer survivor are just some of the ways the Jay Fund supports families with children suffering from cancer.

The fund is named for former Boston College football player Jay McGillis, who died of leukemia. Coughlin, formerly the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and currently the head coach of the New York Giants, was McGillis’  college coach.

One of the ways the Jay Fund raises money is by publishing an inspirational calendar featuring many of the cancer patients it assists.

The sixth annual “When I Grow Up” calendar was released Saturday, Oct. 27, on national “Make a Difference Day.”

“The calendar, which cost $12, features pediatric oncology patients dressed in what they would like to be when they grow up,” said Keli Coughlin, executive director of the Jay Fund and Tom Coughlin’s eldest daughter.

“Unfortunately there are a few children we have lost over the years, but the calendar is mostly an uplifting childish calendar.”

The Smith family of Ponte Vedra is one of the uplifting stories.

Donna and Field Smith have three children, Kayla, 9, Emma, 7, and Reid, 5. Kayla and Reid are both brain tumor survivors and are featured in the calendar as an artist and a lifeguard.

“Both my kids‚ tumors were benign but in a malignant location,” said Donna Smith.

“They are both doing great and are tumor-free. They get annual MRIs, and we’ve had some genetic testing at Nemours [Children’s Clinic, Jacksonville], but we still don’t know why. It’s hard to deny there is something going on, having two children with tumors in one family. It rocks everybody’s world.”

Reid was diagnosed with an optic glioma in 2005, and Kayla was diagnosed with a juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma in 2006. 

Smith said Reid’s left eye started bulging and at first pediatrician Dr. Matthew Paton thought it was allergies. Within two weeks the eye continued to bulge, and he sent Reid to ophthalmologist Dr. Alexander Pogrebniak and oncologist Dr. Paul Pitel at Nemours.

“They said he needed a CAT scan and MRI and that was on a Monday,” Smith recalls.

“He started chemo that Friday. He was on chemo for two months but it kept growing and he lost vision in the eye that he will not regain.”

Reid went through chemotherapy at Nemours in Jacksonville for nearly two years before undergoing surgery to remove the tumor at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami.

“We went to specialists all over the East Coast, and we wanted a doctor who could do the surgery and help cosmetically so his eyelid wouldn’t droop,” Smith said.

“We’re so happy we went there because his eyelid is totally functioning.”

Kayla showed no symptoms, but when her mother noticed some puffiness under one eye it got her radar going. She went to see the ophthalmologist and they were not worried about the puffiness but they got an MRI just in case.

“They found a tumor on her cerebellum and it was unrelated to the puffiness, so it was a coincidence we even found it,” Smith said. “That was the worst day of my life. We went two years with Reid’s tumor and I didn’t think anything was going to show up on the MRI with Kayla. So for them to say we have to admit her, I was shocked.”

Smith said the tumor was found on a Thursday and Kayla had surgery to remove it the following Monday. Kayla was treated at Shands in Gainesville, where pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. David Pincus removed the tumor.

“I had no idea how I was going to tell her, but the neurosurgeon was like, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her‚’ ” Smith said.

“The neurosurgeon was amazing. He said, ‘See that white spot on your brain, that’s not supposed to be there. I can take it out with an operation and I think we should do that so you don’t get sick. You’ll be asleep and you won’t feel it. Your stomach will hurt when you wake up and your neck will hurt, but it will go away.’ And Kayla just nodded.  She knew what to expect. She had the surgery on Monday and we were home by Thursday.”

Smith said she couldn’t have gotten through that time without the support of her parents, Don and Mary Lou Mikush and her parents’ friend, Father Chris Whatley of St. Mark’s Catholic Church in Catonsville, Md.

“My parents [originally from Maryland] have children all over the country where they could have moved to, but the fact that they were here was a godsend,” Smith said.

“And Father Whatley was my rock through this whole scenario.”

Smith said the support from the community and their doctors was beyond what they could have imagined. Although the Smith family has never had to receive funds from the Jay Fund, they have met families who have needed it.

They support the cause by participating in Jay Fund events such as the annual holiday and Valentine’s Day parties.

“You get to know the other families who are going through chemo with their children, and we’ve seen families who have needed help and what a difference it makes in their lives,” Smith said.

“Financially and emotionally it is very difficult. Whatever a family needs the Jay Fund takes care of it. No red tape. No paperwork. What they do is amazing.”

To order the “When I Grow Up” calendar, visit tcjayfund.org or write to the Jay Fund at P.O. Box 50798, Jacksonville Beach, Fla. 32240. For more on the Jay Fund, call 543-2599.