LOCAL PEOPLE
The Jones County community is stepping up in several ways to help Lucas Messengale, a little boy here in the county who recently was diagnosed with leukemia and is having to undergo expensive treatments.
Josh Messengale, Lucas’s father, said they have been living in Jones County for 12 years now, moving from Macon. He said he met his wife in Macon, resulting in love at first sight. He said they only lived in Macon for about a year before moving since they both worked in Jones County, him becoming a teacher at Gray Station Middle School, where he teaches Georgia history to eighth graders.
“We love the community. With me being a teacher, I’m going to run into somebody I know,” he said. “I love the hometown community feel in Jones County. It’s such a welcoming environment. A lot of former students have donated and sent messages, which has been encouraging.”
He said with Lucas only being about a year and a half old, he doesn’t understand what’s going on. He said he’s hoping his son doesn’t remember what’s happened since he’s so young. He wants Lucas to grow up happy.
“Lucas was perfectly healthy until the end of June, and we started noticing he was very lethargic. We took him to the doctor, where they tested him for COVID-19 and the flu, and they were both negative. They said to bring him back after Independence Day, so that’s when the initial tests came back that it could be leukemia on July 5. They sent us to the children’s hospital, and he was diagnosed on July 7,” Messengale said.
The father said Lucas has been in and out of chemotherapy since then. He said the family never saw this coming, but he said Lucas has been taking everything well. He said Lucas is happy, playing with his brothers a lot.
“He has a good prognosis, and he’s on a three-year plan right now,” the father said. “He’ll have chemo, which is sporadic. It’s an 85 to 90 percent survival rate for the type of leukemia he has.”
He said his son lost his hair, and he gets sick from the chemotherapy sometimes, but he’s still as tough as can be. He said Lucas is all boy when it comes to his behavior, and he enjoys playing when he’s awake. He said Lucas loves Mickey Mouse quite a lot.
“He has three older brothers who adore him, so he’s spoiled rotten. He has a wagon we take him on rides in, and he has Mickey Mouse playing. People here in Jones County, especially at Gray Station Middle School and our church family, have helped out tremendously. They’ve been so understanding,” he said.
The teacher said they recently had a 5K race to help raise funds. He said that lasted on into the night, and the winners donated what they won to the family. He said it turned out better than he imagined, and he’s extremely thankful for those who were there.
Messengale said with his wife unable to work right now, and him having to take days off work, things have been a bit strained financially. He said he knows it’s going to be even more of a burden as the bills start coming in, but he said Jones County has stepped up and helped them more than they know.
“I can’t thank everyone enough so far with all the support we’ve gotten. It’s been amazing.” Messengale said. “These treatments are expensive, and I’m thankful we have insurance, but even with that it’s costly. Everyone has been so good to help out.”
