Overcoming life’s adversities is the inspiring theme that connects child cancer survivor Azalea Bedward to super-ambitious teenager Nathan Douglas, who sought employment on a construction site to help pay for online schooling.

The boldly captivating tales of these can-do Jamaican children are the focus of the latest episode of the Rolling with Deiwght Peters airing this Sunday on Television Jamaica.

“The story of Azalea came to my attention almost four years ago when I met her parents shortly after the last cancer diagnosis. To see this little fighter thriving with her larger than life personality just warmed my heart,” Peters recalled. 

“I promised them that this story I must tell. It is also a joy to see her story of strength has made her a global ambassador for St Jude Hospital.”

ANOTHER DEIWGHT PETERS EXCLUSIVE

Peters secured an exclusive as this is the first time Azalea’s story is being told on local television- though she has received immense global coverage.

For the young Azalea, diagnosed with a rare form of cancer – rhabdomysarcoma – when she was only two years old, her emotionally spent parents Ricardo and Simone Bedward were acutely aware that hospital care and medication in Jamaica would be burdensome.  

“Mentally and financially it was a strain, and not all chemotherapy drugs are available through insurance  in Jamaica, and on top of hoping that they are available and hoping that you can pay for it, and knowing that she has to be in the hospital, it was just a really scary experience,” Mrs Bedward shared. 

To this end, the parents channeled their energies towards securing their baby girl medical intervention from the world famous St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee in the United States, where she was attended to by oncologist Beth Stewart, and a history-making, surgical procedure was performed on the infant cancer patient. Azalea’s compelling story was handpicked by St Jude to be shared in promotional videos for which the young Jamaican was featured alongside Hollywood A-list actress Sofia Vergara. 

Both Azalea and her mom, Simone (with a video story from her doting dad Ricardo), reveal the behind-the-scenes emotional drama from cancer diagnosis to recovery with talk show host Peters who was happy to give their amazing life chapter his media platform.

“This is the ultimate family story of trials and triumph and I was excited and honoured to welcome the Bedward family for an in-person interview on the show,” Peters said. 

GUY’S HILL HIGH STUDENT GETS SURPRISE OF A LIFETIME

Equally riveting a story, Peters assured, is his Zoom interview with Guy’s Hill High sixth-form student Nathan Douglas. The ambitious adolescent showed impressive initiative by seeking construction work at Post Road  in St Mary to fund his learning accessibility which neither his domestic helper mother nor mason father were able to fully finance. 

Douglas’s intrepid drive, which was spotlighted in The Star caught the attention of Peters who was eager to have the teen on his show.

“Nathan’s willingness to not settle, but push for a legitimate means of income to pay for data on his phone to do online classes was not only remarkable but exemplary, Peters observes. It’s an admirable quality that needs to be extolled. and also greatly inspiring along the lines of guests we showcase who take challenges head on.”

Peters travelled with his team to Guy’s Hill to make a surprise visit for Nathan.

“Viewers should get their tissue ready, its going to be a real tear-jerker. Many people were inspired by the story when I called upon them.”

Meanwhile, in the show’s weekly Glamour Zone segment, is SAINT International star Breana Carson. The Cumberland High School teenager who was directly booked from Jamaica by Peters, her model agent, and makes her global modelling debut in Paris for the luxury fashion house Celine, talks about rising above the odds.

Rolling with Deiwght Peters airs exclusively on TVJ Sundays at 4:00 p.m. and repeats on Wednesdays at 1:05 p.m.