::: COMMUNITY NEWS

This photo, his grandmother's favorite, shows Justin Nelson in 2005, in between battles with leukemia.

Justin Nelson, who fought leukemia for six years, dies at 15

Published Friday, July 6, 2007

Justin Nelson's 6½-year struggle against leukemia came to an end Monday, when he died at the age of 15.

A prayer service will take place 10 a.m. Saturday at St. John Vianney Church, 10497 Coloma Road, Rancho Cordova. There will be a private burial at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Cemetery in Rancho Murieta.

Even after his death, Justin continued to be an inspiration to friends who channeled their grief into efforts to help his family.
Although he wasn't able to receive the bone marrow transplant it was hoped would save his life, Justin inspired people who had never met him to sign on as donors when they learned about his desperate plight.

Perhaps they saw him on the TV news, a frail-looking boy playing with his dog and talking matter-of-factly about the disease that was preying on him, and how important the donor registry was for him and others just like him.

What they didn't see was what the effort cost him, how he politely excused himself to go to his room to lie down and rest as the reporter and cameraman prepared to leave.

Somehow, Justin was always drawing on reserves that couldn't possibly exist.

The incredible gift of being home with his family and friends and Lola the dog would sustain him again and again.

When he wasn't in the hospital, he was "trying to be normal," he told the interviewer.

It was only in the last weeks that Justin's family learned he had already faced the question of his own mortality, the "what if" the adults who loved him couldn't bring themselves to contemplate.

Perhaps that's not surprising, since Justin had no illusions about the enemy he faced. He fought it back, becoming more knowledgeable about it each time, and exerting whatever control he could, said his parents, Melissa and Mike Nelson.

On Thursday, Justin's grandmother, Lanita Nelson, determinedly searched for photographs that showed no shadow of illness. She found her favorite, a picture taken in 2005 that catches Justin during a respite in the leukemia onslaught.

There's the same radiant smile his friends write about in an online guest book, but it's framed by a corona of hair. "The family loved his curly hair," she said wistfully.

In addition to his parents, Justin is survived by his birth mother, Kima Nahhas, his brother, Jared Nelson, grandparents Lanita and Robert Nelson of Rancho Murieta, aunts, uncles and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances can be made to the Justin Nelson Fund at El Dorado Savings Bank, P.O. Box 1340, Rancho Murieta 95683.