As Jolisa ‘Jojo’ Geneeha walked to the podium to receive her diploma from Washington High School in Phoenix on May 24, she was one of thousands of students who graduated around the state. Although it may have seemed like a typical rite of passage to many, for Jolisa and her family it was yet another symbolic moment of a miracle that began 15 years earlier.
Her parents, Wayne and Patsy Geneeha, were raised in Holbrook and were high school sweethearts who moved to Glendale after graduating from Holbrook High School. In the summer of 1996, the Geneehas were visiting in Holbrook, spending the Fourth of July weekend with family when Jolisa was just three years old.
As family members visited, Patsy recalls Jojo was walking out the front door on her way to play hide and seek, carrying food in her hand, when their world suddenly turned upside down.
The sound of screams came from outside as Patsy rushed to see her daughter being mauled by two Siberian Huskies. “They had torn away at her head and were attacking her stomach. It was unreal,” recalled Patsy.
Rather than waste precious moments waiting for an ambulance to arrive, Wayne scooped Jojo up in his arms and began running with her to the hospital, which was nearby.
“He was frantic, we all were. Someone finally caught up to him in a vehicle and drove them the rest of the way,” she said.
Patsy attributes the quick responses of the doctors, EMT’s and police officers working that day to making a difference in the outcome.
“It’s because of them that she was able to be airlifted so quickly to Flagstaff hospital,” recalled Patsy, adding that she was later told that several officers and EMTs had to go through counseling in order to cope with the ordeal.
Jojo remained in intensive care for four months following the mauling. The complications from her wounds resulted in organ failure and the growth of a fungus that physicians predicted to be fatal. She became paralyzed on her left side and lost hearing in one ear. On seven separate occasions she nearly died, but the strength and courage of the little girl overcame the odds. Her doctors labeled her recovery a miracle.
“At first they gave her a three percent chance of survival, then one percent… but we never gave up and neither did she,” stated Patsy.
A family of strong Christian faith, the Geneehas’ prayers never waivered. “We definitely felt the prayers of family, friends, the members of our church and the people of Holbrook. The Lions Club raised funds for medical expenses, Hulet Elementary kids made her a blanket; we were so thankful,” recalled Patsy.
Every prognosis offered by physicians never manifested. Even as Jojo defied the odds, the family was told she could never swim or participate in athletics, yet in high school she made the swim team and played softball.
“I’ll never forget that. Parents are always proud of seeing their kids accomplish things, but seeing her out there playing…it was amazing,” Patsy related.
Jojo just didn’t defy the odds, she excelled. She joined the Japanese Club and became vice president of the student council. She even became a peer mediator and counseled her fellow students on overcoming obstacles.
For Patsy, her daughter’s survival and success are testimonies of faith.
“We just want the people who helped her, those officers, the medical staff and the people of Holbrook who cared so much, to know that she’s done well. We will always be grateful for that. It’s truly a miracle.”
Now that Jojo has graduated, she plans to continue her education at Northern Arizona University and to become a pediatrician.
