Jessica’s gentleness, by all accounts, is one of her defining qualities.
Friends describe her as warm, nurturing, and soft-spoken. Coworkers say she has a calming presence, especially around children. Her husband Danny has said that what he admires most about her is her ability to make others feel safe — a beautiful irony, considering she once needed so desperately to be saved.
Other kids didn’t understand.
But Sheyenne did.
She grew up knowing her mother was strong beyond measure — even if that strength began long before she could understand it.
And Jessica herself always downplayed her fame at home. She wanted her children to know her as their mother, not as a historical headline.
In her heart, she wasn’t “Baby Jessica.”
She was simply Mom.
A Grandmother With a Gentle Touch
Today, Jessica embraces another role she treasures deeply: grandmother.
Her grandchildren, Emiliano and Nolan, bring her joy in a way few things can. She has said that watching them grow reminds her how precious — and fragile — life is.
When she holds them, she often thinks of the rescuers who held her in their arms in 1987 — covered in dirt, crying, confused, but alive.
Sometimes life comes full circle in quiet ways, and Jessica embodies that truth.
Her Work in Education: A Heart for Children Who Need Support
Jessica’s decision to work as a special education assistant in an elementary school speaks volumes about her character.
She understands vulnerability.
She understands fear.
She understands what it means to need help when the world feels too big, too hard, or too overwhelming.
In many ways, she connects with children like few others can.
Her patience, her empathy, her gentle tone — they form part of who she is, but also who she became because of what happened to her.
People who work with her often say she brings:
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an intuitive understanding of children’s emotions
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compassion rooted in lived experience
She once said:
“I know what it means to be cared for by strangers who owe you nothing. I just want to pass that forward in small ways.”
And she does — every day.
The Lost Trust Fund: Accepting Life As It Comes
When the 2008 financial crisis hit, Jessica’s trust fund — the fund that so many people from around the world had contributed to — lost most of its value.
For some, this would have been devastating.
But Jessica handled it with remarkable grace. She didn’t express anger or bitterness; instead, she focused on gratitude for what remained.
Enough was left to buy a house — a foundation, a sense of stability, a place to build a future.
And to her, that was more than enough.
She has never measured her life by money.
She measures it by survival, by family, by simple blessings.
