Jeremy and Amy Jacobs brought their 13 month old daughter Eva in for a wellness exam. The news wasn’t good. In fact, it was a nightmare that still haunts them today. Ava had a massive brain tumor and the treatment recommended only left her with a 5 to 10% chance of living. Even worse, if she did live, the treatment was so aggressive that the odds of her living a typical life was almost non-existent.
Faced with little time and a parental instinct that pushed Jeremy and Amy towards seeking alternative treatments to keep their little girl alive. Jeremy, a Bismarck native, worked for NASA and had heard about the use of proton therapy as concept for astronauts. As Jeremy describes, using traditional radiation can shrink a tumor, but you are also damaging the tissue and cells behind the tumor, in front of it and on the sides. The collateral damage associated with this treatment all but guaranteed that Ava would be left with significant brain damage…if she survived at all. Proton therapy allows for a much finer level of space. You target a specific area and can then minimize the danger of damage to neighboring cells and tissue. It was at the beginning stages of even being considered experimental, but the Jacobs family would do anything to help their little girl.
11 years later, Ava is alive and well. Jeremy notes that there were some hurdles, but Eva has been able to overcome any stumbling blocks along the way.
The journey that Jeremy and Amy took to find proton therapy is a small miracle in itself. If it had not been for Jeremy’s work connection, they may not have found out about the treatment potential in time or at all.
After more than a decade telling Ava’s story, they have found parents who were in similar situations and have been able to share stories with families who lost children or other family members that could have been helped by experimental treatment. Because of this, the Jacobs have started a website and app to help provide resources, ideas and community to those families dealing with pediatric cancer.
Click here to go to the Bravehearts for Kids website
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(Amy Iler & JJ Gordon are talk-show hosts at 790 AM KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. “It Takes 2 with Amy & JJ” can be heard weekdays 11am-2pm. Check out the show page on
FACEBOOK.
Follow Amy on Twitter
@AmyKFGO
. Follow JJ on Twitter
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