PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. — Brandon Perkins remembers the day well.
"On Halloween night in 2013 she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, called pilocytic astrocytoma. It's the type of tumor that actually has a very high success rate but because of the location of hers is essentially inoperable," he said.
That's why his daughter, Jaylen Perkins, has spent a lot of time at East Tennessee Children's Hospital.
"People that come in and do crafts and stuff with their children they are, they are amazing. And those are probably our favorite, favorite players. She loves them," he said.
She also loves candy, which played a role in her joining an exciting collaboration.
A mini-golf company was considering a creative addition.
"Crave Golf is a one of a kind, mini golf experience for people in the Pigeon Forge area in East Tennessee," Crave Golf Club spokesperson Andrew Parrott said.
It's a candy-themed venue with interactive experiences.
He described a brainstorming session about adding a castle to the golf course.
"What if we brought someone from the outside to create and help develop this castle and to give something that will be a permanent fixture that they can always come see and love," he said.
One thing lead to another and then Jaylen's dad got a call from the hospital about the pitch from Crave Golf Club.
They met 9-year-old Jaylen, virtually, and it was a perfect candy match.
"I was excited," Jaylen said.
She came up with a castle design.
"It's pink and it has gumdrops at the top of it but also lights," she said.
Enter Steve Brauch with Brainchild Creative.
Steve said, "Whatever, whatever anybody brings to me I'll figure out a way to, to make it happen."
So what's it like working with a client who's nine years old?
"Actually it's a lot of fun. I mean, she adds a little bit of a different spin are all of us old guys out here," he said.
In a Zoom demonstration, Steve showed Jaylen's drawing, his original concept, and then the latest version.
"So what do you think, Jaylen?" he asked.
"I like it," she said.
He added a drawbridge made of giant sticks of gum and placed a heart medallion in the middle of it with her name on it.
"I think it would be cool to live in my own castle," Jaylen said.
Jaylen won't get to live in the 20-foot tall castle.
But when it's finished Crave Golf Club will close down for a few hours so Jaylen can play mini-golf with her family and see the unveiling of the castle, Jaylen's Castle.
After the private reveal this fall, everyone will be invited to see it and take part in a fundraiser for Children's Hospital.
Here is an inspirational message from Brandon Perkins about his daughter, Jaylen:
Right before her third birthday, Jaylen was diagnosed at Children's Hospital with a type of brain tumor called pilocytic astrocytoma, a type found more commonly in children than adults.
Her first surgery in attempt to remove the tumor, happened very soon after and Jaylen had quite a long stay at Children's Hospital. They removed a good majority of it, but the rest was considered too dangerous and high risk to attempt removing.
Soon after she was finished recovering and came home, she started her first time on chemotherapy that lasted for a year. The tumor had applied pressure to the back of her eyes, severely damaging her vision and she is now considered legally blind. Over the course of the next almost 8 years, Jaylen would undergo countless MRI scans, many doctor visits and several brain surgeries for various reasons related to the tumor and also a second year-long round of chemo.
Her doctors, nurses and child life specialists at Children's have been nothing short of amazing. There's no words that come close to describing how thankful her entire family and she is for everything they have done and continue to do. Her favorite person in Children's Hospital is Anna, the child life specialist who has been with Jaylen this entire journey so far and Jaylen absolutely adores her.
Jaylen has always had a very unique and happy personality. She has a tendency to gravitate towards people much older like grandparents and she loves her family very much. Her willingness to help anybody that she can is a quality that stands out very, very much.
She will never hesitate to ask a person what they are doing and if there's anyway she can help. She always tells us she wants to be a teacher when she grows up.
She has two younger siblings, a six year old brother and an 11 month old half sister. I've been a single father to Jaylen and her brother Jordan for over five years and as she's grown older, she's such a big help around the house. She always likes to stand in the kitchen and learn to cook things with me. She tells me all the time in a joking manner that I would be lost without her. She loves animals very much as well.
Here's the end of the story and I've saved something good.
The night before her first surgery, her mother and myself were standing right next to her, holding her hand and talking to her. She asked where her doves were. When I asked her where she had seen doves, her exact reply was "in the sky next to the cross." What she said was very clear and could not be mistaken for anything else. I had to sit down for a second and collect myself because I was so shaken by that.