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KEARNS — It's easy to take health and citizenship for granted. Not for Jessica Fowkes, who nearly died before this day could come.
"I'm nervous," said Fowkes as she waved a flag at the naturalization ceremony at U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
"I'm proud of her," said Douglas Fowkes, her husband, seated behind her. "You know she's come a long way. She survived her illness and now here she is."
Jessica Coles moved to Utah from Peru 10 years ago and married Doug Coles. Two years later, she got medulloblastoma, a rare, fast-growing cancer. Far from home, knowing few people and very little English, it was a rough road.
"She was in a wheelchair for over a year," Douglas Fowkes said.
With tumors on her spine and brain, she fought hard through surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
"She spent 39 days at Intermountain Hospital," he said. "Oh, gosh, and there was like a year there where we were on the edge of not knowing."
Jessica Fowkes shook her head, "Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad."
Through sheer will, the Kearns woman survived and never lost sight of her dream. Even when sick, she studied for her citizenship test using flash cards.
"She made her own so sometimes we'd sit at night and go through the questions," Douglas Fowkes said.
There are 100 civics questions on the naturalization test that covers U.S. history and government topics.
Her green card came while she was still in the hospital. "Emocianada," she said, meaning, "Excited."
And now the hard work paid off: "This is it," he said.
Jessica Fowles stood at the courthouse and sang the national anthem, which she said means so much to her. Then she repeated the Oath of Allegiance — both a promise, and for her, a gift.
She lost her dark hair permanently because of the cancer, but on this day, she gained a new life.
"Proud, proud, proud. This is good," Douglas Fowkes said. Jessica Fowkes said she was, "Happy, happy, happy!"
Doctors say she is cancer-free.
