Today, Friday, July 31, turned into one of the hardest days we’ve faced in a long time.
Jacob woke up seeming fine, just like any other morning. But by 2:30 in the afternoon, everything changed. He stopped responding — no knee movement, no reaction to my questions, nothing. At first, I assumed he was just having trouble moving his leg, so I fed him as usual. Our friend Randy visited for a while, and we watched TV through the afternoon, hoping he’d perk up.
But as the evening went on, my wife and I grew more and more concerned. No matter what we tried — even things that would normally make him cry — Jacob just stared off into space, completely unresponsive. It was like he wasn’t even with us.
We called our friend Mark Toole, who is an RN. Mark came right over and checked all of Jacob’s vitals. Everything looked okay on paper, but the lack of any response was too serious to ignore. At 8:30 PM, we called 911. The ambulance arrived before I even hung up the phone.
The paramedics worked on Jacob in our driveway for a long time and determined he was septic. He was rushed to CAMC Hospital, where he went through a battery of tests — bloodwork, urinalysis, CT scan, chest X‑rays, and more.
At 2:00 AM, Jacob was admitted to the ICU.
He is still unresponsive.
Doctors have confirmed pneumonia and a severe infection they are still trying to pinpoint. His white blood cell count is extremely high, and he is septic. He is also in Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), likely triggered by the infection.
We are exhausted, scared, and praying without ceasing.
