Harvey is the light and life of the party

By Maureen Gilmer, Riley Children’s Health senior writer, mgilmer1@iuhealth.org

Harvey Jump delights in big hugs, big grins and big love.

All were on display Thursday as the little boy with the distinctive mohawk hairstyle celebrated his fourth birthday, this time in the hospital, surrounded by everyone he loves.

Harvey, who has spent the past three weeks building up his strength in the inpatient rehab unit at Riley Hospital for Children, returned to 9 West on Thursday, where his favorite nurse, favorite child life specialist and scores of other team members joined with his parents, little brother and grandparents in singing Happy Birthday to the beloved boy, before digging into a giant Paw Patrol cake.

Diagnosed with a low-grade but large brain tumor in June that cannot be removed surgically, Harvey has made the rounds at Riley, charming people on every unit. But no place is more precious to him than 9W, where he spent weeks recovering after two operations. He continues to receive chemotherapy, a two-year regimen, to shrink the tumor.

“We can’t say enough about 9 West,” said Harvey’s mom, Carley Jump, who with her husband, Eric, has been by their son’s side throughout this roller coaster of a journey.

While he’s learned to be wary of “pokes” at Riley, he “sprints” onto the 9W unit, his mom said. “We can’t keep up. He hugs everyone. It’s his safe place.”

A lot of that has to do with Josh Harper, a veteran nurse on 9W who had Harvey as a patient during his first visit. Colleagues say Harper has a soft, gentle way about him that helps patients feel at ease.

Harvey loves Harper so much he wants to dress up like his hero nurse for Halloween. To that end, his 9W friends presented him with his own unit badge identifying him as Josh’s “bestie” (two in case he loses one), as well as a Riley T-shirt signed by the team. On it are the words: Harvey’s 9 West Bestie Crew.

Of course, Harper was there Thursday to get hugs from Harvey and watch as he made the rounds in the room.

The junior nurse beamed at the personalized gifts before he moved on to the rest of the pile of puzzles, books, spaceships and other toys that kept growing as team members floated in and out of the unit playroom to lay eyes on the birthday boy.

One of those team members dear to them is child life specialist Maddie Rodriguez, who walked into the emergency department that June day as neurosurgeon Dr. Rabia Qaiser and other doctors delivered the difficult news to the boy’s parents.

“We’re trying not to cry in front of Harvey, but we’re already losing it, and that’s when we met Maddie,” Carley recalled about that day. “We didn’t know anything about child life, but she was like, ‘I’ve got Harvey; you guys go cry.’ She gave us the longest 15 minutes of our lives, and we just sobbed.”

“We instantly trusted Maddie,” Eric added. “She’s been a part of Harvey’s life since that day.”

In the next few months, they would feel the Riley team wrap its arms around them day after day.

“All of child life are incredible,” Eric said. “What they do is extremely important, not only for the kids but for the parents. They helped Carley and I just as much as they helped Harvey.”

But the appreciation is deep and wide.

“Dr. Q is our favorite,” he said, using his nickname for the neurosurgeon. “Dr. (Scott) Coven is amazing, Dr. (Mariah) Ozkir. All the doctors and the nurses here and on rehab are incredible. The therapists are amazing. He is treated so well.”

Still, every day is emotional for the Fort Wayne couple. Ups and downs, lefts and rights, Eric said.

“It’s hard to watch your son go through the things he’s going through, but also, I see him making huge strides here, so that makes it easier on my heart. It’s awesome to see where he is mentally and physically. He hasn’t taken a step back mentally. He’s the same little bright light. When he sees the people on 9 West, he lights up, and that’s the light we’ve seen in him in his four years of life. It’s good to see that he’s not giving up.”

Rodriguez says patients like Harvey bring out a sense of family on the unit.

“Seeing how many people go above and beyond here at Riley is really special,” she said. “When you meet those Day 1 kids on one of the hardest and rawest moments of their lives, it’s something they don’t forget and something we don’t forget. We go along the journey with them, so it helps when you can build that bond and trust within each other as an entire team and family.”

Harvey is expected to be discharged from inpatient rehab this week, then will continue his chemo regimen at home, returning to Riley monthly for labs and injections.

Every day, his parents hope to be greeted with the mantra they taught him when all this started: “I can and I will.”

Even after an eight-hour brain surgery, through the fog of medication, he remembered, Carley said.

“That surgery was scary. He woke up from it, and he turned to us, and that was the first thing he said.”

“I can and I will.”

Photos by Mike Dickbernd, IU Health visual journalist, mdickbernd@iuhealth.org