Houston family about to walk coast to coast in girl's memory

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Raising awareness of childhood cancer, a Houston family is about to embark on a cross-country walk in memory of their eight-year-old daughter.

The Cobb family will walk from Disney Land in California all the way to Disney World in Florida. It's a journey of about 4,000 miles.

Julia Cobb's smile is as indelible as her spirit, and in her memory, her family is hoping to honor her short life with an epic journey they say pales in comparison to the challenges Julia fought to overcome.

"She had a positive radiant smile as you can see," said Jonathan Cobb with the JuCan Foundation. "It never changed through the course of her treatment."

They call themselves Team Jucan, as in Julia Can.

"For us, we want to do something almost as difficult," said Jennifer Cobb with the JuCan Foundation.

They will home school their children along the way, teaching them more than math and reading.

"It's important for me to do it for (Julia) because I know she had a tough time during cancer and now i want to return the favor," said Jonathan. "So I'm happy to do it for her."

"It's probably the most difficult thing I'll ever do," said Julia's sister, Jenna. "But we're team JuCan and we're in this fight together."

They're goal is $413,000, then establishing a footprint in Houston for families just like theirs is -- fighting cancer.

"Our desire is to go to the happiest place on earth where dreams come true," said Jonathan. "And our dream is to see a cure for pediatric cancer."

It is fitting that Julia's mother says she was Tinkerbell on earth, sprinkling pixie dust before leaving too soon; fitting that Julia lost her battle while on her Make-a-Wish trip to Disney World a year ago, taking her final steps in what would be her family's first.

"My son, and his family, what they're about to do is one of the largest steps of faith I've ever witnessed," said Julia's grandfather, David Cobb.

The family is getting sponsors along the way. They're meeting with other families coping with cancer in towns across the U.S. They leave Thursday and expect to take eight months to complete the trek. You can follow their journey here.

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