Welcome to our CaringBridge website! We are using it to keep family and friends updated on status of Jacob’s Treatments and recovery of his Bone Marrow Transplant all in one place! We are so appreciative of your support and words of hope and encouragement during this time! Thank you for visiting.
Jacob’s Story:
In January of 2022, Jacob went to the ER for blood in his urine. At this point we were expecting something along the lines of kidney stones, nothing to the extent of what we found out. In the ER they found a mass on his left kidney and sent him home with only being told it is likely cancer. Over the next several weeks, he saw many cancer doctors, kidney specialists and still no one would quite figure out what it was. He went up to the university in Columbia where they did a biopsy of the kidney and we waited more only to have no good answers yet again. They had never seen anything quite like it which was even more scary than before. On Sunday January 30th, we met with a nephrologist (kidney doctor) in St. Louis at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He told us while he couldn’t quite give us a diagnosis just yet, he was absolutely sure the kidney needed to be removed regardless. The next day, January 31st, Jacob was admitted and had his left kidney removed and sent off for testing to many different places to figure out exactly what was going on with the kidney. Several weeks later, we got the news that the mass was cancerous and that he would need to undergo lengthy radiation and chemo treatments to prevent spread of the cancer cells. The tumor was diagnosed as a Wilms tumor, which is common in toddlers but very rarely seen in 25 year old adults. With this information his doctor decided he would get the best care for his condition at St Louis Children’s hospital. We met with Dr. Armstrong and she laid out the 14 rounds of chemo and 11 rounds of radiation that is used to treat Wilms tumors and how it would be adjusted for his age. At the beginning of March 2022, Jacob was admitted to the Children’s hospital for his port placement and first round of chemotherapy. Over the next 10 months, he finished his rounds of chemo and radiation with a few extra hospital stays for infections. Not a single day of those 10 months were easy but he fought like hell and finished with clear scans in early December to ring the bell and be cancer free! On December 18th, 2023, Jacob and Kelsey got engaged to be married (planning for March 2024!) Over the next year Jacob was set to be getting check ups and scans every 3 months. He worked so hard to gain back his weight, and strength and to get back to the normal life of a 26 year old as much as possible. In September of 2023, Jacob went to St. Louis for his 9 month check up, blood work and scans. After a long day, we got a call on our way home that his blood work was not quite what they expected. His playlets, white blood cell and hemoglobin count was significantly lower than what they would expect 9 months out from finishing treatments. Over the next couple of weeks they ordered more blood work and a bone marrow biopsy to find out exactly what was going on and why his body wasn’t producing blood like it should. A week later we got a call saying his biopsy showed signs of MyoDysplastic Syndrome (MDS) which is a precursor for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) which is a form leukemia that is caused by previous chemotherapy treatments. The only cure for this type of cancer is a bone marrow (or stem cell) transplant. With this diagnosis they wanted to begin treatment and the search for a bone marrow donor within the next few weeks. Our wedding was planned for March 2024, but with him needing to start chemo and needing a bone marrow transplant around that time, we wanted to ensure that he would be able to enjoy our wedding day to the fullest. So we planned a wedding in 10 days and on October 28, 2023, Jacob and Kelsey got married at the most beautiful wedding surrounded by the best people. An absolutely perfect day. On the following Monday, October 30th, we went up to St. Louis, (Big Barnes) met with new doctors and began the plans for treatment and the search for a bone marrow transplant donor. Jacob underwent two rounds of two weeks of chemotherapy, followed by a couple weeks for recovery in between. In the first week of January we got the news that they had found a 10/10 match for Jacob and would be getting a date for transplant soon! Lots of emotions were felt during this time, excitement that they found a match but also lots of fear and worry as there is a lot that comes with the bone marrow transplant process. Jacob was admitted to Barnes Jewish Hospital on January 22nd where he will receive a week so chemotherapy in preparation for a Bone Marrow Transplant on Monday January 29th. He will spend 4-6 weeks in the hospital post transplant as well as living locally to the hospital in St. Louis for around 100 days to monitor him for infections and complications from transplant! We are hoping and praying this will be the final cure for Jacob and his cancer journey!
Late on the post this week but it’s been a busy one!
Monday was labs and doctors visit. All of his numbers have come up a little bit! With the slow consistent increase in numbers and overall doing well, we were released to come home HOME! They said he is at a decent spot in recovery that he would be okay to be home!
He will be getting labs weekly at home and going to commute back to St. Louis every 2 weeks for to meet with the doctor! This was much earlier than expected so we were very excited for this news!
He is still not 100%, tired and definitely has more recovery to do but happy to be resting at home!
Continued prayers for recovery and full health soon while still avoiding infections! 🤍 but we are very thankful for where he is right now!
Patients and caregivers love hearing from you; add a comment to show your support.
Help Jacob Stay Connected to Family and Friends
A $25 donation to CaringBridge powers a site like Jacob's for two weeks. Will you make a gift to help ensure that this site stays online for them and for you?
