In 2021, Jim Hickey started a walk across the state for a Cozad, Nebraska, girl with cancer, but stopped short of his goal when the 62-year-old discovered he himself had cancer.
After undergoing treatment for bladder and kidney cancer, Hickey finally walked the last mile of his journey Saturday. He finished the walk at Children’s Nebraska in Omaha, where 7-year-old Paishence Hansen has received treatment for her pediatric brain cancer.
“I said to that little girl and her family that one day I was gonna come back and finish her walk. And two years, three months and five cancer surgeries later, I did,” Hickey said.
Hickey first heard about Paishence after he finished a walk from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Denver for a 21-year-old with cancer. He was at a bar in Fort Collins, Colorado, sharing his story when someone told him about her.
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“I looked her up and those blue eyes just stole my heart, and I thought, you know, I could walk across Nebraska for her,” he said.
Paishence Hansen (right) and sister Preslee ride in a wagon as their family walks to Children's Nebraska on Saturday with Jim Hickey and members of the Omaha Fire Department. Paishence was diagnosed with brain cancer at age 3 after tumors were found in her brain and spine.
Paishence was diagnosed with cancer at age 3 after tumors were found in her brain and spine. She underwent surgeries and chemotherapy and has been in remission for two years, her mother, Tara Meyer, said.
Hickey reached out to Meyer for permission to do the walk, and in September of 2021, he traveled to Scottsbluff, Nebraska, to start his journey across the state. Before starting his walk, Hickey was able to meet Paishence’s family.
“I never knew who they were until I got out here,” he said. “She was a total stranger, and I just decided that I was gonna walk for her.”
Meyer said she was touched when Hickey first reached out to her about walking for Paishence.
“It was very heartwarming and I’m very thankful,” she said.
Undergoing his own cancer treatment
During the walk, Hickey started to see blood in his urine. A Marine veteran, Hickey stopped at a few veteran clinics along the way but was determined to finish the walk even as he felt himself becoming weaker.
But when Hickey made it to Aurora, over 300 miles into his journey, he knew he had to stop.
“You don’t want to give up,” he said. “But it just got to the point where I knew I couldn’t.”
Hickey, originally from New Jersey, moved to Denver so he could be treated at Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center. He underwent multiple surgeries to remove tumors from his kidney and bladder and later had his left kidney removed.
When Meyer heard that Hickey had cancer, she was worried about him and his health.
“I’m like ‘Jim, you need to stop, you need to take care of yourself,’” she said.
Even as he underwent his own struggle with cancer, Hickey said the need to finish the walk for Paishence was weighing on him. While he’s still fighting cancer, he was given clearance by his doctors to finish the walk and felt ready to do it.
“I’m not out of the woods by a long shot with the bladder, but I’m fine. I feel fine,” he said.
Finishing his journey for Paishence
Hickey resumed his trek in Aurora nearly a month ago, and Paishence’s family was there to help him kick off the journey.
Hickey said it took a bit of time to get used to walking again, and he takes more breaks than he used to.
“The first day was rough,” he said. “And I’m thinking maybe I can’t do this anymore.”
However, Hickey persisted and arrived in Omaha on March 19.
Meyer said she knew Hickey was adamant about someday finishing the walk, and that’s what he accomplished on Saturday.
“That’s what he wanted, that was his goal and he got it done and so I’m happy for him,” Meyer said.
Paishence, 7, and sister Preslee ride in a wagon as their family walks alongside Jim Hickey and members of the Omaha Fire Department. Hickey and Paishence’s family started the last mile of the walk near 90th Street and West Dodge Road, walking east on Dodge to Children’s Nebraska.
Hickey and Paishence’s family started the last mile of the walk near 90th Street and West Dodge Road, walking east on Dodge to Children’s. They were joined by members of the Omaha Fire Department, and a fire engine drove alongside them.
After finishing the walk, Hickey said it hadn’t quite sunk in yet.
Hickey is returning to Denver to undergo surgery to remove more tumors from his bladder. He said he’s waiting to see how the surgery goes to decide what’s next for him.
‘That just did something to me’
Hickey said he has walked a total of over 9,200 miles since he began walking for cancer awareness in 1998.
He lost his dad to prostate cancer in 1995 and his brother received a similar diagnosis shortly after and had to undergo surgery.
“That just did something to me,” he said.
Jim Hickey walks alongside members of the Omaha Fire Department as he finishes his trek across Nebraska for 7-year-old cancer patient Paishence Hansen, shown in front of him with her family. Hickey, after undergoing treatment himself for bladder and kidney cancer, walked the last mile of his journey on March 23.
Hickey decided to quit his job, sell his car and set out with a backpack and less than $100, he said. He has tried to walk across the country five times, but decided to walk shorter routes to raise awareness for specific children fighting cancer.
In the past, Hickey worked to get sponsors so he could continue the walks, but now he’s able to fund it himself with veteran benefits.
Hickey isn’t done walking yet. He said he wants to make it 10,000 miles and then he’ll evaluate what to do from there. He has around 800 miles to go.
“It’s just something I have to do,” he said. “I can’t explain it.”
