My name is Kelly Jackson, and I met Isac Fontana when he was a freshman - my first year of teaching art at Oswego High School. I got to know him pretty well that year and was lucky enough to have him in my class every semester until he graduated. Isac is funny, driven, smart, hardworking, and talented, and my classroom hasn't been the same without him! I felt like a proud aunt watching him walk the stage in the spring of 2025 and start his first semester at SUNY Oswego.

Isac was rushed to the hospital on April 10th with a brain bleed. The doctors soon diagnosed him with AVM, a rare and life-threatening condition affecting the blood vessels in his brain. Along with this rare condition, they also found a brain aneurysm and a blood clot. He immediately had 2 life-saving brain surgeries and spent the past 2.5 weeks with a drainage tube in his brain, IVs, and scans. He has been a trooper through it all, intense pain, tubes, fluid restrictions, losing his memory and not recognizing his mother, to finally starting to regain his strength and come to terms with the severity of his condition.

After almost a full 3 weeks in the Neuro ICU at Upstate, his brain swelling has finally come down enough for the drainage tube in his brain to be removed and the surgeries to be scheduled.

Isac has always told me that his mom was his person - and she really is. She has not left his side this entire time. She's been sleeping in the chair next to his bed and taking care of him day and night. She has other kids at home and a full-time job and is very thankful for the help she's gotten from friends, family, and the school with her absence. She is an amazing example of the unconditional love of a mother.

If you are able to donate, I know Isac, his mom, and family would be extremely grateful as they prepare in the coming week for 3 more extremely risky brain surgeries and navigating the financial burden of being out of work for close to a month with other kids at home.

And please, please send prayers and good energy Isac's way.

~Kelly Jackson