Hey there,

My name is Beth, Jake is my Son and my best friend. I have watched him struggle and fight for months on in to regain his health. His poor body decided to give in all at once. He has had issues with his kidneys for years and thankfully so because had he not been experiencing the pain in them, he wouldn't have gone to the doctor. It was through their treatment that they found he had cancer in his bladder. He tried to keep it from me and his family because he doesn't want anyone to ever worry about him, that is something I cannot stop from doing. If that wasn't enough, during his recovery and continued treatment, he developed a bacterial infection that attacked his brain and spine. He is still dealing with the effects of that infection and it will be a long road to recovery. He is feeling happier but still has no energy and his body is in pain. He has gone through all of this on his own financially. He has no family in Atlanta, besides Zubin. He has arranged his own transportation to and from appointments, with the help of friends Eric Imhoff and Scotty Holt. Jake has shouldered the entirety of the financial responsibilities of this illness. Due to the timing of his illness, he has 2 years of deductibles, copayments, and out-of-pocket maximums facing him, as well as paying his regular bills, and day-to-day expenses. He has managed this silently.

He has been dealing with this while still opening his home to friends and acquaintances that are housing challenged. He provides food and toiletries to those in the neighborhood that are in desperate need and even cooked a full Christmas dinner for those that did not have a family to see for the holiday. No matter how sick he got he still put the needs of others before his own.

In May I went to help take care of Jake after he was released to home health care from the hospital. As excited as I was to be there and help him, my heart broke when I first saw him, he had lost so much weight and he was so frail and weak. Hewarned me about how sick he was before I got there, but no one can prepare a mom for seeing thier child sick. In another "Jake-ism" he apologized to me on my drive to Atlanta for being grumpy to me. He said he knows how he can get when he doesnt feel well and wanted to apologize in advance if he was grumpy to rude towards me, he said he didn't mean to be he just felt so sick. When I arrived he was at a doctors appointment, and when he got home I saw the 24 hour pic-line IV running out of his upper arm. He had an iv bag of medication running into him 24 hours a day. In the evening he had to set up a place to replace the IV bag. he did this for 2 full weeks. He would get so sick every night after changing the medication, but never once did he complain. He always looks on the bright side of things.

I know there is so much going on in the world, but if you could find it in your heart to donate anything at all I would be so grateful. If you cannot donate Jake has always said just prayers and positive thoughts is all he would ask from people.

Thank you all so much!