Tessie and John “Sly” Sylvester first met when they worked at a youth football camp in 2001.
Right from the very beginning, the pair shared a spark. It was obvious that Tessie and John were a perfect match for each other.
They both loved football, they both adored their families and they both had their roots in strong Christian faith. Their friends used to say that the couple could “light a room with their smiles”.
Before long, there was a wedding and children. Tessie gave birth to sons Gus and Freddy, with the pair enjoying happy years together.
Unfortunately, storm clouds were lurking on the horizon.
It was in 2010 – 6 years after the couple were married – that the family received some devastating news.
John, formerly a professional soccer player with the Minnesota Thunder, had been diagnosed with ALS. It would be the toughest fight of his career.
For seven years, Tessie took care of John and supported him as best she could. All the while, however, his body became weaker and weaker.
As John couldn’t work, it fell to Tessie to support her family financially. She worked hard so that she could put food on the table and ensure John could what was left of his life.
In addition, she went above and beyond to maintain a positive attitude throughout every challenge they faced.
The family managed to struggle by, though John’s sickness meant his condition was deteriorating all the time.
Finally, he was unable to breathe.
On June 16, 2017, John looked at Tessie and told her that he knew the end was near: It would be his last day on earth.
“John and I just kept crying and praying and he kept telling me ‘It’s going to be OK, it’s going to be OK,’” she said, as per CBS.
A short while later, her husband passed away.
Tessie knew it was time to call the funeral home and make arrangements, so she picked up the phone. When she did, though, another line began calling her, and she was dealt impossibly bad news.
“As I was calling the funeral home to tell them that John had passed, the doctor called me on the other line and said the biopsy had come back and it was cancer,” Tessie explained.
After blood tests and scans, doctors had finally determined that Tessie had adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that forms in mucus-secreting glands.
Doctors couldn’t work out where the cancer had initially formed, but it had already metastasised to her liver and lymph nodes. As a result, surgery wasn’t an option.
Tessie was left reeling by the diagnosis.
“I wasn’t tired, I wasn’t sick, I wasn’t in pain,” she said.
After years of looking after her sick husband – Tessie was a true rock – it was time to fight her own battle.
She was determined to face cancer with her head held high.
“I always thought it wasn’t fair what happened to John, but he always had such light to him,” Tessie told CBS.
“I don’t want to say it’s not fair yet, because I’m not ready to give into it.”
Tessie is afraid to leave her sons without a mom or dad, so she plans to do everything she can to survive the coming fight.
Initially, she will begin chemotherapy, with surgery out of the question.
However, Tessie can’t work whilst she undergoes treatment, and so her friends have started a collection to help her family during this difficult time.
It won’t be easy, but Tessie herself believes she will get help from above.
“I think John went when he did because he knew that I needed some protection from another place, to stay with our boys,” she said.
According to the latest updates, Tessie’s battle – and her support – is going well.
It feels like this family has suffered for a long time, so they need all our prayers to help them pull through.
Please share this story to pay tribute to Tessie and her boys! #FuckCancer
