St. Jude Flashpoint

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Everything changed when the cancer diagnosis came for Jessica Turri at 9 years old. But her story isn’t what you think. Not even close. Relive her improbable life – from treatment at St. Jude to the set of a popular TV show, from Nashville TV news to country music – with members of her awestruck family. read less

Society & CultureSociety & Culture

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“If you don’t have a struggle, you haven’t really lived.”

“If you don’t have a struggle, you haven’t really lived.”

Sounds like a country song, right? Just maybe because when life gives you a second chance, you live it like Jessica Turri. Like most good Nashville ballads, hers tells an unforgettable tale, from childhood cancer to TV scripts and, yes, country songs.

Episodes

“If you don’t have a struggle, you haven’t really lived.”

“If you don’t have a struggle, you haven’t really lived.”

Sounds like a country song, right? Just maybe because when life gives you a second chance, you live it like Jessica Turri. Like most good Nashville ballads, hers tells an unforgettable tale, from childhood cancer to TV scripts and, yes, country songs.

"We put the dolls up on a shelf."

"We put the dolls up on a shelf."

Everything changed when the cancer diagnosis came for Jessica Turri at 9 years old. But her story isn’t what you think. Not even close. Relive her improbable life – from treatment at St. Jude to the set of a popular TV show, from Nashville TV news to country music – with members of her awestruck family. “I just know I’ve been offered so many chances and I’ve been given another chance at life and I really feel a lot of pressure to make that life count.”

"Sometimes I had to go into the back yard and scream."

"Sometimes I had to go into the back yard and scream."

When your little girl is this sick, you don’t let your fear or worry show. Jessica’s mom says it over and over – she bottled up her emotions during her daughter’s low points. But those emotions pour out for the first time in this episode as the family retraces its steps to St. Jude.

"Is God Mad at Me?"

"Is God Mad at Me?"

The unexpected conversation that changed Jessica’s life – even before the first round of chemo.

"Cancer had become my life."

"Cancer had become my life."

After 2.5 years of treatment, cancer is your life. It shapes your daily routines, your thoughts. In some senses, who you are. Then – and this frightened Jessica and her family - they send you home to find a new normal. For pre-teen Jessica, it led to a new life. “Her life was on a totally new trajectory when she was done.”

"We all wore pink to her funeral."

"We all wore pink to her funeral."

Jessica got her name from another special little girl who commanded plenty of attention. So it’s no surprise when she lands her in front of the TV cameras – in Hollywood and Nashville. But even that’s no match for a promise made at the funeral of a friend who didn’t survive childhood cancer. A promise that changes her life. Again.

"It was a very big honor for me to be the one."

"It was a very big honor for me to be the one."

Jessica’s life is the stuff of a country song for sure, all that heartache and triumph. All that pain and gratitude. Maybe call it ‘A Grateful Heart’ – something she talks about a lot. And she finds just the man to write it.

Danny Thomas, in black and white

Danny Thomas, in black and white

A cold winter night leads to a powerful, chance encounter between two parents of St. Jude patients.