- C
- c
Children are an amazing gift. They fill every nook and cranny in your heart.
We were blessed to have Sammy (Jacobs 5 year old big brother) and then when we found out we were having another boy, we were over the moon happy.
Jacob Rubin Burstein, aka Jake, was born on Labor Day, September 1, 2014. All of our lives have been touched by this amazing little boy.
Jake takes on so many similarities as his older brother Sammy. Both with amazing personalities, both equally loved by so many people that come in contact with them. Jake just knows how to suck you in. He's a charmer, and very strong willed. When he wants something, he goes after it.
At 9m old, he was crawling, walking along furniture, and climbing stairs. He is truly a force to be reckoned with. Now Jake is starting his first journey. It's probably going to be the hardest journey of his life, and he starts this at only 9 months old but he is not alone. He has the love and support of family and friends with him every step of the way.
Before Jacob was even born, he had a kidney issue called Hydronephrosis. It happens when the urine backs up in the kidneys and it causes inflammation. It was something we were watching to make sure there was not a bigger problem. We have been back and forth with it being not great, and just OK. We were getting ultrasounds every two to three months to check it and things were OK.
On June 23, 2015 we had another routine ultrasound, and towards the end of it, the ultrasound tech got quiet and did pictures from positions that weren't for the norm. We figured his kidneys were in bad shape again. The tech quietly finished her work and we left the hospital.
Two minutes after getting home we received a call from Jacob's urologists office, that we had to be at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia in two hours and it was urgent. They wanted more imaging but didn't say anything more.
After reading the ultrasound report and a catscan, and am MRI the doctors finally told us that there was a tumor in his liver that was 6.9 cm (where his liver was only 12 cm) and that it was a malignant form of cancer called a Fetal Hepatoblasoma. This is a cancer that affect approximately 3 in 1 million children from the ages of 0 - 15yrs. It is also one of the most common cancers for children under 2.
Jacobs Oncology is being done at St. Christophers while his surgery to resect his liver is being done at Neumours at duPont in Delaware.
The logistics and expenses that we have and around all of this are growing as we are stretched thin trying to keep up with all of the running from place to place and lengthy hospital says. It has been suggested to us that we start a gofundme site so that people have a place to help if they can and want to.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, wishes, good vibes and kindness. They are helping to make a tangable difference as we go through this difficult time. You can read more about Jacob and his journey through this at the website below.
Thank you
Jacobs Journal called Jacob's 1st Journey on CaringBridge.com
We were blessed to have Sammy (Jacobs 5 year old big brother) and then when we found out we were having another boy, we were over the moon happy.
Jacob Rubin Burstein, aka Jake, was born on Labor Day, September 1, 2014. All of our lives have been touched by this amazing little boy.
Jake takes on so many similarities as his older brother Sammy. Both with amazing personalities, both equally loved by so many people that come in contact with them. Jake just knows how to suck you in. He's a charmer, and very strong willed. When he wants something, he goes after it.
At 9m old, he was crawling, walking along furniture, and climbing stairs. He is truly a force to be reckoned with. Now Jake is starting his first journey. It's probably going to be the hardest journey of his life, and he starts this at only 9 months old but he is not alone. He has the love and support of family and friends with him every step of the way.
Before Jacob was even born, he had a kidney issue called Hydronephrosis. It happens when the urine backs up in the kidneys and it causes inflammation. It was something we were watching to make sure there was not a bigger problem. We have been back and forth with it being not great, and just OK. We were getting ultrasounds every two to three months to check it and things were OK.
On June 23, 2015 we had another routine ultrasound, and towards the end of it, the ultrasound tech got quiet and did pictures from positions that weren't for the norm. We figured his kidneys were in bad shape again. The tech quietly finished her work and we left the hospital.
Two minutes after getting home we received a call from Jacob's urologists office, that we had to be at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia in two hours and it was urgent. They wanted more imaging but didn't say anything more.
After reading the ultrasound report and a catscan, and am MRI the doctors finally told us that there was a tumor in his liver that was 6.9 cm (where his liver was only 12 cm) and that it was a malignant form of cancer called a Fetal Hepatoblasoma. This is a cancer that affect approximately 3 in 1 million children from the ages of 0 - 15yrs. It is also one of the most common cancers for children under 2.
Jacobs Oncology is being done at St. Christophers while his surgery to resect his liver is being done at Neumours at duPont in Delaware.
The logistics and expenses that we have and around all of this are growing as we are stretched thin trying to keep up with all of the running from place to place and lengthy hospital says. It has been suggested to us that we start a gofundme site so that people have a place to help if they can and want to.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, wishes, good vibes and kindness. They are helping to make a tangable difference as we go through this difficult time. You can read more about Jacob and his journey through this at the website below.
Thank you
Jacobs Journal called Jacob's 1st Journey on CaringBridge.com