Together We Will Be

article by Meredith McKinnie
photography by Kelly Moore Clark 

“During hard times, come and find me. I’ll hold your hand,  and together we will be.” For Geneviève Wetzel, enduring  hardship is an opportunity to create a community, summon  inner strength, and raise awareness. 

When her father was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2018, Geneviève Wetzel was just 10 years old. She remembers feeling confused, lost, and ultimately left behind. While her parents navigated the emotional, physical, and mental challenges of cancer treatments, Geneviève felt disconnected from the family for the first time in her life. But the broader community embraced Geneviève, showing the power of emotional support from surprising places. Through Geneviève’s experience, she turned tragedy into hope for other children like herself.

Daughter of Zeke and Courtney Wetzel, 16-year-old Geneviève is a sophomore at Neville High School. While running track and playing soccer, Geneviève serves on the Student Council and is a member of the Future Business Leaders of America. Zeke and Courtney insisted that Geneviève and her brother Vaughn learn a musical instrument, and Geneviève has played piano for over a decade. Last year, Geneviève turned her attention to the Miss America Organization, and she currently holds the title of Miss Belle of the D’Arbonne’s Teen. In meeting all the ambitious and talented young women her age from across the state, Geneviève instinctively knew the target audience of her platform – children with family members suffering from serious illnesses.

Prior to 2018, the Wetzel family was your typical close-knit unit. Having moved to northeast Louisiana when Geneviève was only 6 years old, they enjoy game nights – playing backgammon, chess, Catan, and Rummy 500. The Wetzels love dressing up and creating their own costumes for the New Orleans’ Mardi Gras parades every year, as Zeke is from south Louisiana. But in 2018, Courtney and Zeke, visibly upset, called Geneviève and Vaughn into their bedroom and gave them the news – Dad had Stage 2 colon cancer. About to start the 5th grade at Jesus the Good Shepherd School, Geneviève didn’t know what the cancer diagnosis meant. Her grandmother and aunt were also battling the disease, but this time, the patient was her dad, her rock, her cheerleader. The family cried together, each quietly pondering what life without dad might look like. For the next few days, Geneviève would catch Zeke randomly crying; it was like she couldn’t escape the diagnosis, and she couldn’t imagine life without her father.

Within a year, Zeke was in remission, and the family could breathe again. They knew it was a possibility the cancer could return, and in 2020, it did, yet this time the diagnosis was Stage 4. While enduring chemotherapy treatments, Zeke suffered a seizure and was put in a medically-induced coma to preserve his brain. Geneviève recalls it being the scariest time because they feared her father wouldn’t make it, but against all odds, Zeke pulled through. As Zeke continued treatment at MD Anderson, the family relied on Pilots for Patients, a local nonprofit that provides free air transportation for families needing diagnosis and treatments at medical facilities that are locally unavailable. Through the family’s interactions with Pilots for Patients, Geneviève saw how many other kids shared her experience, some even younger than she was. Geneviève realized that while life without her father was inconceivable, at least she had time and memories with her dad. Some of the kids she met couldn’t say that.

Still, looking inward, Geneviève knew her dad probably wouldn’t see her graduate or walk her down the aisle. Now with a terminal diagnosis, Geneviève was running out of time with Zeke. She began asking, “Why me?” and “Why my dad?” The stages of grief set in and yet Zeke is still here. The outpouring of community support stunned the Wetzels, and Geneviève began to consider how she could give back. How could she help kids like her through this time? Through her emotional evolution, Geneviève realized that she could advise others by starting a community for children in the same situation. After winning her first pageant title, Miss ULM Teen in 2023, Geneviève took over the Facebook and Instagram pages run by previous title winners. She started posting about the work of Pilots for Patients to raise money for the organization. She brought on volunteer pilots and local patients to share their stories, then expanded to sharing her story and stories of other kids in similar situations. The online community is called “What I Know Wednesday,” which focuses and features children and their unique points of view. The community offers an alternative perspective on a tragic reality.

Last summer, Geneviève started envisioning how to memorialize the Wetzel story and considered writing her own children’s book. While she didn’t know anyone her age who had authored one, she knew her story resonated with the public and that kids needed encouragement tailored for them. When she started composing the story, she leaned into making the sentences rhyme, knowing the lyrical text would captivate children. Geneviève teamed up with Keagan Vaughn, an art teacher at Sallie Humble Elementary, to illustrate her story. She titled the book Together We Will Be, and the aforementioned refrain appears throughout the text. Geneviève’s mom Courtney assumed writing and publishing a book would be easy, but the process is quite tedious – from budgeting, to securing barcodes, to purchasing copyrights, the Wetzels lumbered their way through to publication. Mentor Hope Anderson Fruge read Geneviève’s early drafts. Courtney and Zeke kept their distance, as they wanted the book to center Geneviève’s voice. Though it is the family’s experience, it is ultimately Geneviève’s story to tell. When the hard copy arrived in the mail, Geneviève squealed with delight and finally shared the story with her father. The publication of Together We Will Be allowed the Wetzels to reflect on their journey and recognize all the blessings throughout their experience.

Courtney is thankful for the blessings she took for granted before. She says, “You can be resilient even though you feel like your world is crumbling.” She is thankful for her community and has learned to ask for and accept help when needed. Her children Geneviève and Vaughn are smart, strong, and her ultimate support network. Courtney is thankful for organizations who encourage young women to stretch themselves, even in times of hardship. For Geneviève, she’s learned that time is the most valuable part of relationships. While she doesn’t know how the future will look, none of us do. And she is thankful for the quality time she is spending with her father. Zeke always encourages Geneviève to outdo him, to shoot for the moon and take nothing for granted. Geneviève is thankful for their substantive conversations, and how he supports her wildest dreams, reminding her that she is one of his.

The Wetzels are a testament to hope in times of strife, to the imperative of community when we feel all alone in our sorrows. And their story serves as a reminder that sometimes the belief and the magic is found in the hearts and minds of the children. For they are the legacies we all leave behind, and through the children, we all keep on living. 

All of the proceeds from Together We Will Be go to nonprofits whose mission is to support families during their critical illness journey. Copies can be bought locally at Revival Design & Consign and purchased on Amazon.