Aspiring chef Jack Witherspoon has overcome leukemia three times in his 11 years
Jack Witherspoon was feeling an uncharacteristic lack of appetite as Thanksgiving approached this year. In fact, he had to force himself to eat, something that was particularly concerning to his family.
Jack is 11 years old. For nearly half of his life, he has battled leukemia – first when he was only two and underwent three years of intensive treatments, and then again when he was six and again fought off the cancer in another arduous 28 month battle.
Things could not have been going much better for Jack late last spring. After all the years of isolating himself to protect his immune system, Jack was finally just one of the kids as he finished fifth grade at Rivera Elementary School. He was excelling at school and was extremely active, playing baseball, surfing, and skateboarding. He’d even earned his black belt in Tae Kwon Do.
And he cooked. Ever since he’d gotten hooked on the Food Network while at the Miller Children’s Hospital in Long Beach as a six-year-old, Jack had taken an avid interest in the preparation of food and – most emphatically – eating a well-cooked meal.
