GREENSBORO, N.C. — Khye Jessup of Greensboro may weigh under 45 pounds and stands at just three feet tall, but that doesn’t stop him from doing what he enjoys most.
“Especially when I talk to children, I like to talk to children, explain about disabilities and talk about Khye,” Shelley Mason said. “I ask them, ‘Do you think Khye can play football?’ They're like no. When I say, ‘He does, he plays football and basketball and baseball. They're like really, for real?"
At two years old doctors diagnosed Khye with Hunter's Syndrome. Hunter’s Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that has taken his ability to walk, talk and eat on his own. His mother Shelley Mason says doctors told her he wouldn't live past 10 years old.
“He'll be 26 in May,” Mason said. “So, he's done a lot better than what anybody has expected."
WFMY News 2 first introduced you to Khye in 2017 when he crossed the stage and graduated from Ragsdale high school. Though Khye has accomplished what doctors didn't think was possible, Mason said it wasn't easy.
“It was always difficult for him to have friends,” Mason said. “I see that with a lot of children with different disabilities. Even children who have way more skills than him. It's difficult to develop that friendship.”
Khye's desire for friendship inspired Mason to write her children's book, There's a Little Boy in My Class But I Don't Know His Name. The book tells the story of a boy who goes from being curious about the little boy in his class that seems different, to the two becoming friends.
“A lot of times in the school systems, these children are in separate classrooms,” Mason said. “You might see them here and there, but nobody takes the time to learn their name. They just know them as the child with autism, the child in the wheelchair, the child that's blind. I really want to focus on, let’s get to know their name and identify them as a human not just by their disability."
Since the release of her book in 2021, Mason has read to students at summer camps, schools, and churches across the country.
“One time I went to a summer camp and at the end, I was signing all the books for the kids, and this little girl said can you put your phone number in the book,” Mason said. “I was like you want my phone number? What do you want with my phone number? She said, 'So, I can call Khye and have a play date.' It just touched my heart."
Khye may not be able to verbally speak for himself, but with each page turn his mission to educate and promote inclusion continues to be heard.
“We're going to keep living, I'm going to keep making sure Khye is doing as much as possible, Mason said. “As long as he's alive and his eyes are opening, we're going to be getting out into the community.”
Mason’s book can be purchased at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Next Chapter Bookstore at Ben’s Boyz in Greensboro.