Deadly disease no match for terminally ill teen’s ambition
A 19-year-old teen who is suffering from a deadly form of cancer has landed a record deal with Sony Music Entertainment.
Jeff Mortimer was just 16 when he was diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma, a form of muscle cancer.
Now, after three years of radiation therapy and chemo, he’s battling a relapse. But the teen from West Palm Beach, Florida, insists cancer won’t slow him down. “I don’t worry about what I’m going through,” Mortimer told ABC News. “When I see what people really go through, it made me want to work harder to push forward.”
Mortimer, who goes by the stage name “Young Jay,” said it wasn’t until he was dealing with cancer that he felt that he could transform his music hobby into a professional pursuit.
“I always used to write…then put it to the side,” said Mortimer. “But I never took advantage of the music until now.”
But Mortimer isn’t just thinking about himself. He spearheaded a program at the Palm Beach Children’s Hospital that helps other children create music that inspires them.
Mortimer will remain in treatment, but doctors will move him from intravenous chemotherapy to a pill form so that he can be more mobile and tour.
“When doors are open you have to take them, because you never know when you’re going to see them again,” he said.
Inspiring.
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