Bond dedicates moment to “Jubi”
ST. LOUIS — Four months after Taylor Bond met Julia “Jubi” Drummond, a cancer patient, they shared an interaction during a MASL game.
When the Chicago Mustangs forward scored against St. Louis on Saturday, Nov. 26 in the Family Arena, he celebrated with the 5-year-old by putting on a blue shirt, with a caricature of her, that reads, I wear for Jubi and #hopeforJubi.
After blowing her a kiss, Bond and the team gathered around Jubi and posed with her on the left side wall.
“She was screeching and squealing, she was kissing me and hiding her face,” her mother Liz said. “We knew he was going to do something special.”
Jubi celebrated with Bond and the Mustangs with elation that has become a staple of her personality. Her enthusiasm is rarely synonymous with her condition.
“She has had a hard time, but this is how she has been the whole time,” Liz said. “She has always been this happy. It’s hard for people to understand how sick she is. We are with a bunch of kids, she is always the hyper one. She was almost dead when they diagnosed her, but they wouldn’t believe me because she was so hyper.”
According to Liz, when Jubi was diagnosed with cancer, the doctors said most people in her condition would be in a coma. Jubi meanwhile at 3-years-old, was walking and talking. She immediately was given a blood transfusion.
“I feel so blessed to have met Jubi,” Bond said. “The strength she has shown through this entire process is unparalleled. This night was a dream come true for me.”
Bond, who leads Chicago with 10 goals, posted a hat trick to leave left little doubt that that he would miss sharing this moment with Jubi.
“Oh yeah, we knew he was good,” Liz said of her confidence that he would score. “We follow and watch him. He is so sweet. All of these guys are so nice.”
Bond was gifted the opportunity to meet Jubi as a part of a Kids 4 Kids charity event with the MASL and pro futsal players in July at Duchesne High School in St. Charles, MO. The money raised at the event went to charities, including kids with cancer.
“He seemed to connect with her,“ Liz said. “She was really nervous that day. He got down on his knee, I have pictures from that day, and was as sweet as can be.”
Liz said he has been praying for her and sending her messages through Facebook in the hospital, throughout treatment.
“He is so nice,” Liz said. “She just went through two and half years of treatment. She just ended October 16, but she is still has chemotherapy and 10 days of brain radiation.”