Tiny Mississippi leukemia survivor has wish granted, becomes Ole Miss cheerleader for a day
Published 3:48 pm Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Andrew Newby, UM assistant director of veterans and military services, works with the Student Veterans Association to organize Ole Miss Wish, which is part of Military Appreciation Week. He said Ole Miss Wish is one of his favorite parts of the job.
“I get to work with families who’ve experienced incredible things, from deployments and military service to facing a life-threatening illness,” Newby said. “Helping these families to feel a sense of belonging in the Ole Miss family is wonderful, and it is my pleasure to make a child feel seen and feel important.
“Rowan is such an amazing girl, and I’m so happy to play a part in her celebration of defeating cancer.”
Chris Neff, who graduated from Ole Miss in 2007 with a degree in criminal justice, will retire from the Mississippi Army National Guard in January. He spent nearly six of his 23 years in the Guard deployed, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
He was on active duty while Rowan was being treated, but was able to stay home and work to support those deployed overseas. He is grateful to the university and the Student Veteran Association for recognizing his daughter and his family.
“I just really appreciate that they let us do this, and that Ole Miss appreciates us veterans so much,” Chris Neff said.
Rowan was diagnosed in February 2017 with the form of leukemia, which is usually curable but requires a lengthy treatment period. She spent the first three months living in Memphis to be close to St. Jude. The last phase involved more than 100 treatments, which required the family to drive two hours each way from their home in Pontotoc to Memphis every Monday.
Rowan has faced it all with a steely kind of calm, her mom said.
“She never let it get her down,” Naomi Neff said. “Once she realized she had to do it, she’s just stayed very strong. She isn’t scared of very much.”
The ordeal has also been a learning experience for the entire family, she said.
“It certainly changes everything,” Naomi Neff said. “It changes the way you look at life, and the way you appreciate things.”
