Prescribe Joy to Seriously Ill Kids and Teens

Seventeen-year-old Jacob has a contagious smile and a zest for life that is apparent the moment you meet him. He loves riding his dirt bike, running, cheering on the Portland Trail Blazers, and making others laugh.

Even during his long battle with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Jacob still managed to find the fun in a tough situation. During his many inpatient stays, he would wear silly costumes and make fun music videos to lift everyone’s spirits. He also enjoyed going to Blazer games with his Chemo Pal Tommy courtesy of CCA’s Link Program as well as gathering friends and family for a trip to the Caring Cabin. At the cabin they enjoyed s’mores by the fire, paddling on the lake, and then Jacob commemorated his stay by placing his memorial stone on the grounds at the cabin.

Throughout it all, Jacob says his strong faith helped him stay positive even when things got rough. “Getting sad or angry wasn’t going to help me get through the treatments,” he explained. “So I decided to always stay in good spirits no matter what.”

Now that his treatment is over, Jacob is back to running with his cross-country team and plans to study medicine so that he can be a doctor someday. “I want to be able to shed light on this disease and hopefully help other people,” he said. With his inspiring outlook, Jacob already has.

• The Alexandra Ellis Caring Cabin™, a secluded home along the Pacific Coast nestled in 24 acres of surrounding woods with plentiful wildlife and a serene lake, provides an essential health connection with nature and an extraordinary place for families to relax and create once-in-a-lifetime memories.
• Link, a community network of caring people and organizations that provides wishes and unites local families with essential needs and connections to resources.
• Chemo Pal Mentor® Program, an award-winning program that matches children and teens with trained adult mentors.
• MyMusicRx®, a one-of-a-kind music medicine program that lets “kids prescribe” the music experience that feels right to them. The in-hospital program, led by MyMusicRx Specialists, includes bedside music and provides access to CCA’s digital music medicine program, MyMusicRx.org, which enables kids to play free music games, explore digital instruments and watch exclusive video song prescriptions from their favorite artists – whenever and wherever, 24/7.

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