Jake’s Healing Fund

Hello. Jake’s family has had many friends, family members, followers, and supporters reach out asking for a way to help out, so I am setting up this fundraiser for them during this extremely difficult time in their lives. I have been Erin’s friend for 20 years and as most of you know she has had her share of trials over the years. The whole family has. This is another trial that they will get through and they really appreciate all of your love, prayers, and support.

 

I will try to summarize in the best way that I can what has happened, but you can also follow along on their Instagram page @ourlivelytribe and click on the KT Syndrome highlight bubble for more about Jake’s rare condition and what he’s been through the last few weeks, and in particular the last few days.

 

Jake (11 years old) was admitted to Rady Children’s hospital on 12/4 after being in extreme pain and having a fever. Erin and the doctors thought it was an infection due to his KT Syndrome as he has had many times in the past, based on the location of his pain and symptoms.

 

Doctors ran many tests day after day and Jake was not improving. Constant fevers, constant pain, not able to walk, barely eating. Jakes KT syndrome was making it difficult for doctors to pinpoint what exactly Jake was fighting off and how to best treat him. Eventually, after about 10 days in the hospital, they found out that Jake had an e-coli bacterial infection so they started treating him for that. Unfortunately because of the KT, the antibiotics were not able to reach certain areas of his body so he couldn’t clear the infection. More tests were run and several days later they decided to surgically drain those areas that the antibiotics couldn’t reach. This procedure seemed to help Jake start to feel better and he showed signs of improvement. Doctors were hoping he would continue to improve and would be discharged 12/20 or 12/21.

 

On the morning of 12/19, for reasons still unexplained by doctors, Jake had a pulmonary embolism, blood clots in his lungs which caused his heart to stop working. Thankfully Jake was still in the hospital so that doctors could save him. After finding the blood clots they transferred him next door to Scripps where they were able to perform a procedure to remove most of the blood clots. This procedure was successful and his numbers started to improve immediately which meant blood was starting to flow. He was transferred back to the ICU at Radys where doctors continue to keep a close eye on his lungs and heart, checked for any more blood clots, and are bringing in more specialists to help with his care.

 

At this point (evening of 12/20), he still has some small clots that will be treated with medication, which can take weeks or months to clear. They also lowered the amount of air that his lungs are receiving so his lungs will start to work more on their own, and they lowered his sedation medication so that he could respond to their commands, which he was able to do amazingly! He wiggled his toes and squeezed his hands and opened his eyes, which is awesome. He was also able to get a feeding tube so he can get the nutrition he needs. He is stable and the doctors have been happy with his progress so far, but he still has a long road ahead of him and isn’t out of the woods just yet. Thank you so much for your continued prayers and words of encouragement for Jake and his whole family.

 

Fortunately, Erin and Travis were able to get a room at the Ronald McDonald house which is right next door to the hospital. Their other 3 boys will be able to come down and be close by this week, which is amazing since it is almost Christmas. It will mean a lot for them all to be close by, even if they can’t go into the hospital to be with Jake.

 

Unfortunately we do not have a time frame of when Jake will be released or what his recovery will look like at the hospital and even when back home. Travis needs to be down at the hospital for as long as possible to support not only Jake, but also Erin who has been there with Jake this whole time. This means their income from their RV renovation business won’t be coming in as planned. To not have to worry about income during this trying time would be a huge weight off their shoulders. They can get what they need when they need it and just focus on getting Jake better and also healing the emotional wounds of the family from this traumatic experience.

 

If you would prefer to donate though Venmo, please send donations to @Meredithx4 (last 4 digits of the phone number are 5234, if needed).

 

If you are not able to donate, prayers, words of encouragement, and positive thoughts are greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you for loving this awesome family, and especially for loving Jake. He’s one brave and special kid!