Needed Medical Help: Jacob Peeples

Many of you know our story, but for those of you who don't, please read about my son, Jacob. It's every parent's worst nightmare... finding out that there is something wrong with your child. When Jacob started having eye trouble at age 8, we ended up seeing many different doctors. Eventually, this led us to have an MRI scan to rule out any possible tumors that might be causing trouble. Unfortunately, the MRI confirmed that Jacob not only had a large brain tumor, but many other tumors throughout his body. This was the worst moment in our lives. It's difficult to explain, but the grief took over when we realized that our lives would never be the same from that moment on. Shortly thereafter, Jacob was diagnosed with NF2 (Neurofibromatosis Type 2), which is a genetic disorder in which your body lacks what it needs in order to stop itself from creating tumors along your nerves. Even though the tumors are benign, they are in very scary locations. Many people with NF2 lose their hearing, have extreme vision problems (which applies to Jacob), and also lose function in various nerve locations where they have surgery. In 2020 Jacob underwent a craniotomy to remove his brain tumor. With God's help, Jacob recovered from his brain surgery beautifully. One of the characteristics of NF2 is slow growing tumors, so up until this point, we have just been watching the rest of his tumors in his spinal cord and brain. In addition to closely observing these tumors, Jacob has undergone various eye surgeries to correct issues within his vision. Although his eyes are always on our radar, our main concern at this point is to make sure his spinal cord tumors don't grow out of control, which is why we have been seeking any possible treatments that might help us. Many people have asked why we haven't set up a GoFundMe sooner for the immense medical bills that we acquire every single year for his procedures and MRIs alone. We have been very fortunate to have family who have really helped us stay afloat and survive the past few years. It hasn't been easy, but so far we have found a way to make it through.

The reason I am now reaching out for help from friends and family in this way is because we believe that we have found a treatment option that might help slow the progression of Jacob's tumors. We recently traveled to Boston to visit a highly recommended neurosurgical oncologist for our country. He is a top specialist in the research field for NF2. While we were there, we learned of a clinical trial for a drug called Neratinib. This drug is FDA approved to treat breast cancer patients, and they have seen promising results in patients who have NF2 as well. Many patients have their tumor growth slow down, stop altogether, or even in some cases shrink. There is one spot left in the trial, and it's ours if we can find a way to take part in the study. It would require me to travel with Jacob to Boston 5 times over the next year and two times a year after that. I would need to leave in the next few weeks to start the trial with Jacob. Unfortunately, after traveling there once, I am now completely aware of the extreme amount of money it takes to fly to Boston and stay in hotels near the hospital. Even though I hate to ask for help in this way, I have decided to put our story out there to see if we might be able to raise enough money for these trips. I hope you will consider donating towards our fund. Every little bit helps.

Thank you so much for taking the time to hear about Jacob. If you haven't met him, he truly is incredible. The amount of trials in his life that he has overcome proves what a brave and strong kid he is. Throughout all of his procedures, scans, and appointments, he has never once become negative about his circumstances. When we asked whether or not he wanted to take part in the clinical trial, his exact words were... "Why wouldn't we try? If we don't try, then we will never know if it could work!" As his Mom, I couldn't be more proud of him. I love each and every one of you so much. Please share our story with as many people as possible... Thank you for your support!