Community Rallies Around Firefighter After Wife's Death Following Rare Cancer Battle

When a first responder in Miami-Dade County, Florida, lost his wife to a rare form of cancer, his community made sure he felt their support. His wife died just days after giving birth to their daughter, who remains in the NICU. Now a single dad to an infant and a 10-year-old, Joshua’s friends, family, and even strangers in Miami-Dade want him to know that the community supports him.

Miami-Dade Community Supports Firefighter After Tragedy

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Fireman Joshua Jean’s wife, Santina, 33, passed away on June 6 after delivering her baby prematurely at 24 weeks. It would be more than a week later that he learned his community raised over $100,000 to help him and his family during his time of grieving.

“Fortunately, with a good team at Baptist, they waited for a good gestational age so that way they can get our baby and try to save my wife,” Joshua explained. “They did great on both ends. Everything was on an uprise, but then the leukemia was aggressive, so it overwhelmed her eventually.”

Joshua and Santina had suffered several miscarriages and were delighted when they found out they were pregnant with their baby, Aniyah. While Santina was pregnant, they discovered a lump on her neck, and she was diagnosed with leukemia and a rare, aggressive TP53 mutation. Unfortunately, Santina was isolated through much of her treatment and wasn’t able to spend much time with her loved ones before she passed. 

Joshua Didn’t Find Out the Amount of $100k Until Over a Week Since Wife’s Death

Not even knowing the amount of donations, Joshua says the prayers his community prayed for them are enough, and he doesn’t know what else to say other than “thank you,” and wrote a letter to everyone sharing his thanks. 

He’d known Santina since they were both 15 years old. He remembers that every day with her always had laughter. 

Community Asks Continued Support for Daughter in NICU

In addition to a GoFundMe, Joshua’s friends have also organized an Amazon baby registry for things Aniyah will need when she comes home.

It’s terribly sad what happened to this family, but in the midst of their grief, it’s wonderful that they get to celebrate a new life. Joshua’s community’s actions are a great example of exactly what should happen when a tragedy like this occurs. 

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h/t: Local 10

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Michaela Gordoni is an avid reader and part-time globe-trotter. With a bachelor's degree in International Relations and experience in the non-profit world, she has a passion for people and reporting. You can check out her portfolio here.