HOPE Week: Quai and Vaida Jefferson

The New York Yankees final day of HOPE Week was spent honoring 18 year old Quai and his mother Vaida Jefferson. Vaida was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 11 years ago and ever since Quai has taken care of his mother and their household alone. The Yankees held a barbecue in the courtyard of Saint Joseph Regional High School with the Yankees Dellin Betances, Kelly Johnson, Brian McCann, Jose Ramirez, Brendan Ryan, CC Sabathia, Yangervis Solarte, Masahiro Tanaka, Mark Teixeira, and John Flaherty attending. This is not enough payment for Quai and Vaida but damn, what a gesture.

Here is the Yankees.com write up:

For the Jefferson family, multiple sclerosis has prevented the natural order from running its course. When Vaida Jefferson was diagnosed with the painful autoimmune disease 11 years ago, her son, Quai (pronounced Kway), was just 6 years old. By the time he was 10, he was running the household, cooking, doing laundry and helping his mother use the bathroom. Nurses taught him to check Vaida’s blood pressure and inject her twice a day with Copaxone, a drug which eases the effects of MS.

“He has taken on a parent’s responsibility,” said Regina Kay, a close family friend. “It’s like a role reversal. He’s doing everything his mother would do for him, and he doesn’t give it a second thought. It’s their normal.“

Prior to her diagnosis, Vaida was a design assistant for Jones New York who spent her free time doting on her son and exposing him to a variety of activities, including art classes, piano lessons and tap dancing. Unfortunately, her declining health forced things to change. When most kids would hang out with friends after school, Quai went home to care for his mother, never complaining or shrinking from the responsibility. Over the years since Vaida was first diagnosed, friends and relatives have come and gone but Quai has been steadfast in his devotion.

“She’s truly my heart, my rock and my stone,” Quai said. “She’s all I have.”

Now 18 years old, Quai has recently graduated from St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, New Jersey. He was on the honor roll and a two-sport varsity athlete in football and basketball. In addition to his academic and athletic responsibilities, Quai does the shopping, cleans the apartment, and cooks for himself and his mother. It’s not easy, but he and his mother have a mantra they repeat to each other in tough times — “Adapt and overcome.”

This summer, Quai will attend the University of Delaware, where he will play football and major in business administration with an emphasis in accounting or marketing.

The Yankees, my Yankees. So proud to be a Yankees fan, especially during HOPE Week.