Jersey boy a model of hope and recovery

BURLINGTON TWP. – The model inserted his thumb in a front pocket of his trousers and shifted his weight onto one leg, striking a casual pose.

Joey Weikel looked like a natural at modeling his plaid shirt, charcoal khakis and red sneakers, assuming different poses and never intimidated by the camera or by the photographer behind it.

But the Jackson Township resident is not a professional model.

He is a 9-year-old leukemia survivor and one of five children chosen by the Burlington Stores for a back-to school advertising campaign intended to help raise research money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a national organization.

Joey is not one for getting his picture taken. Usually he runs and hides, but he made an exception this time, agreeing to model because he said it might help other children like himself.

“In my eyes, he’s my hero ” his mother Maria Weikel said. “He’s got a great attitude about the whole thing and I am so proud of him.”

A smiling but shy Joey said he had “fun” at the photo shoot at the national headquarters of Burlington Stores, formerly Burlington Coat Factory, in Burlington Township.

He preferred the shirt and khaki trousers to the varsity jacket and black T-shirt of another outfit he modeled.

“They were more comfortable,” said Joey, who is now in remission from Burkitt’s Leukemia after nine months of chemotherapy treatments.

Life-sized, stand-up advertisements featuring one of the five child models will appear inside Burlington’s 546 stores nationwide in September. Those and smaller signs at checkout counters will ask customers to donate $1 or more to help fight blood cancers during the society’s “Light the Night” fall fundraising walks to honor survivors and those lost to those diseases.

“At Burlington, we are proud to partner with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the 14th consecutive year to raise funds for research and therapies for blood cancer patients,” said a spokesman for Burlington Stores.

Jana Boyer, vice president of the society’s “Light the Night” campaign, said Burlington stores have raised more than $22 million over the past 14 years. “Burlington has been our No. 1corporate sponsor,” she said.

Weikel said she does not know if she could have gone through the ordeal her son endured. He often felt ill and had to be home-schooled until this spring when he was able to return to the H.C. Johnson Elementary School.

Joey is now in full remission and will be considered cured if the leukemia does not return within two years.

A boy of few words, Joey pronounced his illness and treatments “tough.”

What was toughest for his mother was discovering a year ago that he had a rare and aggressive leukemia when all she thought he had was strep throat.

She said after much testing, he finally was referred to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was diagnosed and received an aggressive type of chemotherapy that has worked.

Last year, family and friends formed a team and raised $7,000 for research during the leukemia and lymphoma society’s annual “Light the Night” in Princeton. She said that was a great experience and one they are looking forward to again this year.

“Today we would like to thank Burlington Stores for raising leukemia awareness,” she said, standing beside her son at the end of the photo shoot.

Reach Carol Comegno at (856) 486-2473 or ccomegno@courierpostonline.com

For national walks or more informationv isit www.lightthenight.org