JACQUIE SISCO, 49

Mom's dying gift may help decipher ALS
Advocate for disabled dies peacefully, gives organs to Mayo Clinic
RICH HAAG
rhaag@charlotteobserver.com


Jacquie Sisco died Friday morning the way she had lived her life -- giving to others.

The longtime champion for Charlotte's developmentally challenged died in her sleep, and her departure's peacefulness greatly relieved her husband, Bob, and their many friends.

Sisco, 49, suffered intensely in recent weeks as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an incurable neurological disease, destroyed her ability to breathe.

The end came before dawn, with Bob and a nurse at Jacquie's bedside, and their children, Rebecca, 14, and Harry, 17, still asleep.

"She didn't struggle at all," Bob Sisco said. "She went the way she wanted to go."

It was time for her last gift: Within the hour, her body was taken to a medical center in hopes of sparing others her fate.

She had donated her brain and spinal cord to a research facility at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., and her body to a training program for surgeons worldwide in Memphis.

The Mayo already has the brains and spinal cords of Jacquie's mother, who died of early-onset dementia, and her father, who died of Parkinson's disease.

"They think there may be a link between the three diseases, and this may help them find answers," said Judy Oehl, Jacquie's sister.

Bob Sisco said Rebecca, a freshman at East Mecklenburg High, spent Friday with family friends.

Harry, 17, who has Down syndrome, woke about 7 a.m. to find the empty hospital bed.

"Where's Mommy?" he asked his father.

"I said, `Mommy's gone to heaven,' " Sisco said. "And then he broke down."

But Harry, who close friends say has a joyful heart, chose to go to breakfast at Bojangles' with family friend Dana Long and then on to class at Metro School, where Jacquie and Bob Sisco have given so much support.

Sisco said he and Jacquie had tried to prepare the children, "and we have a lot of people who are helping."

That number had swelled to hundreds recently as people not only brought food and comfort but donated thousands of dollars to a fund to help pay the many medical bills not covered by the family's meager insurance plan.

"I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you," Bob Sisco said. "It's unbelievable. ... They just keep on giving."

Funeral Service

A memorial service for Jacquie Sisco will be held at 11 a.m. Sept. 22 at Sardis Presbyterian Church, 6100 Sardis Road.

Want to Help?

The Jacquie Sisco Family Fund has been set up at SunTrust Bank to pay for medical bills; any remaining money will go toward Harry's future care and Rebecca's future college expenses. Mail donations to the fund, c/o SunTrust Bank, 7770 Poplar Ave., Germantown, TN 38138.

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