Journal-News.com

As difficult as it is to cope with the loss of a child, Fran and Dan Siegel have found some solace.

The owners of Siegel Design Center in Beckett Ridge are hosting a 5K memorial walk at 10 a.m. Saturday at Voice of America Park in honor of their late daughter Jessica.

"I guess what I want to do is bring awareness to people," Fran Siegel said.

Fran Siegel will be at the walk with Jessica's loyal schnauzer, Sebby. The blind dog used to lay with the girl on the couch during the many times she did not feel well.

"That was her love. She said that was her angel," Fran Siegel said.

Jessica had just turned 16 when she died of complications from an arteriovenous malformation on her brain. The genetic disorder can form anywhere in the body and causes weakening of veins and arteries that could lead to an aneurism, bleed or stroke. Most people don't realize they have a problem until it is too late, Fran Siegel said.

That wasn't the case with Jessica, though. At the age of 9 she came down with a virus that wouldn't go away despite a doctor's insistence that nothing was wrong. Fran Siegel said she kept pestering the doctor until he agreed to let her go to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center to make sure it wasn't meningitis.

"My advice to parents is if you really think something's wrong with your kids, get a second opinion," she said.

After one cat scan, no further tests were needed. Several neurosurgeons approached the family with bad news about a brain malformation that had led to a distended vein that had formed a fistula sack, intercepting all the pressure of the blood flowing through the brain.

"It was the largest on they'd ever seen," Fran Siegel said.

Technology was not good enough at the time to really treat or understand the problem, she said. Several techniques were attempted, but as each year passed, the risk of dying became greater.

"She never wanted to have the tests done," Fran Siegel said. "She just wanted to be left alone."

During another attempt to fix the problem, Jessica suffered from complications and died Aug. 23, 2006.

"So many kids loved her," Fran Siegel said. "Every time we go to her grave there are roses."

Fran Siegel recalls the countdown Jessica had written on her mirror.

"Two more days until I am a junior."

The Lakota East High School student had been accepted into Teacher's Academy — her dream. She was also a peer mediator and involved in music.

Saturday walk coordinator and sister Kristen Siegel, said she anticipates many friends and family members at the walk. The proceeds will go toward a scholarship for a graduating Lakota East student with similar goals and attributes as Jessica.

"To me it's my way of doing something great in my sister's name," she said. "More importantly it's a way for the community to get involved and raise money."

This year Jessica would have graduated from the high school.

"She was the glue that held her friends together," Kristen Siegel said. "She achieved more within herself than I think older people take a lifetime to achieve. She was my best friend and she still is my best friend. There will not be one soul on this earth that could replace her."

Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5067 or lhilty@coxohio.com.