If you've had the pleasure of meeting Jacob, you have met one of the most polite, caring, respectful, hardworking, baseball loving young men there is. Jacob can always be found with a smile on his face and a baseball in his hand.  

On June 13th, Jacob was in the ER at Kaweah Delta Hospital thinking he was about to undergo appendicitis surgery. As test results came back, the Fagundes family received news that they would need to head to Valley Children's Hospital for treatment beyond Kaweah Delta's care. The following days were full of testing, needles, and a biopsy that would uncover something no parent or person wants to hear; your child has cancer. 

Jacob was diagnosed with Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma. Over the next 7 months, Jacob will be receiving chemotherapy treatments at Valley Children's Hospital. Jacob will be staying at Valley Children's for one week each month while he receives his treatment. Depending on what his doctor say, he could get to come home the other 3 weeks of the month for his family to care for him.

Due to Covid-19, Tim and Shera have been taking turns staying with Jacob at Valley Children's and working the days they aren't up there. The drive back and forth not only is costly in gas but is creating wear and tear on their car. This, along with the extra days off during the week, medical expenses will create an extreme hardship on them. We hope to take some of the burden off by creating this gofundme account for the Fagundes family. Any donation would be much appreciated as it adds so much relief to their situation.

Jacob was looking forward to graduating 8th grade with his friends and getting ready to try out for the El Diamante High School football team. Jacob has set a goal of getting well and strong enough to try out for baseball in spring 2021.  With his determination and support from his family and friends, as well as the care of his medical team, I know that Jacob will achieve his goals.

Ways to help:

We've set up a meal calendar through September.  Sign up here:
https://takethemameal.com/meals.php?t=TLND1578

Welcome Jacob Home!  We will be collecting welcome home signs to decorate the front of Jacob's home.  We'd like to have signs collected by June 24th and will put them out when we hear his official homecoming date.  Please contact Jennifer at [phone redacted] for drop off information.

Jacob's birthday and graduation are June 30th.  If you'd like to send a card or a gift, please contact me at the number above and I will get them to Jacob.  At this time the family would like to hold off on a car parade.

Fundraiser:
As many of you know Jacob's heart belongs to baseball.  We have created an awareness ribbon baseball player to honor Jacob.  Decals are $5 with proceeds going to the Fagundes family.