Welcome Friends!
Jake W.
Pennsylvania
Biography
Jake was born on August 24, 1998 and was perfect in every way. He
was our second child, and our first boy, and we were just thrilled to have him
join our family.
Jake was always a healthy kid- never any serious illnesses, and was just a happy
go-lucky child. He was incredibly kind- he'd give someone the shirt off his
back if they needed it, and was always a very honest, loyal, and fair friend.
In April of 2010, Jake was 11 years old, and I was pregnant with my 8th child.
Jake was starting to complain of jaw pain and numbness, and we just figured it
was an abcessed tooth. After taking him to the dentist however, we were told
that his teeth were perfectly healthy. We then took Jake to the Pediatrician,
who was perplexed by Jake's symptoms and had no real answers for us either. He
suggested going to see a Neurologist, and Jake was scheduled for an appointment
a few weeks later.
While waiting for that appointment, I began to notice that Jake was very tired
ALL THE TIME. And he wasn't eating much anymore either, and was loosing weight
rapidly. And the pain in his jaw was spreading- down his side, into his arms,
and then his legs. He could barely walk anymore.
By the time Jake was seen by the Neurologist and had a MRI of his brain, Jake
had lost 20 pounds. The pediatrician ordered extensive bloodwork, all of which
came back normal except the SED rate, which only told us that there was
inflamation somewhere in his body, though not where. This led the Pediatrician
to send us to a Rheumotologist where he thought Jake would be give the diagnosis
of Juvenile Arthritis.
At Jake's appointment with the rheumatologist on June 2nd, 2010, we were
reassured that Jake had the classic symptoms of Arthritis. The Dr asked us to
have some Xrays done however, just to make sure that his joints weren't being
damaged. She said we could go home right away after the Xrays, and she would
only call if the Xrays showed that something was wrong, though she highly
doubted it.
Not even two hours after we got home from the Dr she was calling us with the
worst news a Mother could ever get. The Xrays of Jake's bones showed there were
abnormalities in his bone marrow, and he needed to be seen by the Pediatric
Oncology Drs first thing the next morning.
On June 3rd, 2010, we reported to the Pediatric Oncologists, and after many long
hours and extensive tests, Jake was given the diagnosis of High Risk T-Cell
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. His chances of full recovery are excelllent
(89%), but in order to reach that goal, Jake had/has to undergo 3 1/2 years of
Chemotherapy and Radiation.
As you can read on his Caringbridge site, the first year of his treatment was
horrific. It boggles my mind that in order to save him, we practically had to
kill him.
Today though, Jake his more than halfyway through his treatment, and doing so
much better than he was, though he still has bad times.
I appreciate your consideration of Jake- this would mean so much to him! WHile
I am in NO way ungrateful for all the help and gifts Jake recieved that first
year when he was so sick, the truth is that Jake hardly remembers any of it
because he was SO sick. And now that he 'looks' better, people often forget
that he is still going through this junk. He still has daily chemotherapy at
home, montly visits to the Clinic to recieve Chemotherapy Infusion, and
quarterly Spinals where they inject Chemotherapy into his spinal coloumn. He
recently lost most of his hair again, and at age 14 it bothers him so much more
than it did when he was 12. He still feels nauseus all the time, though drugs
now control it. All this to say- I think it would be great for Jake to know
that people still care that he is dealing with this stuff.
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Once there click on the link "database" on the right to view the children and their patterns. Once you find a pattern that you want to stitch and have confirmed it is not already being stitched you may return to the sign up form, fill it in and submit it. If you have any questions about the yahoo group please email Cyberfogie@aol.com, Vicki, for further instructions (yahoo groups email only!) Thanks!
Birth Date - August 24, 1998
Main Diagnosis - High Risk T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
THEME: Zodiac
