Dec. 1, 2008

I know some of you want to hear about Jake's struggles and glorious homecoming, so I will do my best. As you may have read, Jake's Thanksgiving was full of memories and he slept well Thursday night. On Friday morning, Kevin came over and helped us give Jake the 7 pills he took twice a day. They were difficult for Jake to swallow, but Kevin was here and helped, and Jake got them all down. Jake went downhill all day and by 8:00 in the evening he was unable to swallow his evening pills. We called Hospice, and the RN decided to come check out Jake himself. He arrived around 10:00 and, after examining Jake he decided that Jake would probably not last the night. He called one of the around the clock nurses (Candy) and she arrived around midnight. She helped us get Jake comfortable and gave him his meds in liquid form. She also thought that Jake would not last the night and might only have a couple of hours. We decided to call Sarah and Lisa even though it was the middle of the night and they came to be with Jake. Jake's breathing became more and more labored but he hung on and hung on. I wrote the blog on Saturday morning telling everyone to pray for him to be comfortable and to let go and we began getting calls from Jake's friends and family asking if they could come see him. We said okay, praying it was what Jake wanted, and if you say yes, they will come, and they came. The nursing staff had a shift change and Sharon came to be with us. At one time, in and out, around and on Jake's bed or throughout the house were me, Sarah, Johnny, Lisa, Tanya, Bill, Amy, Elizabeth, Kevin, Kara, Steve, Chris, Haley, Stephanie, Stefanie, Kly, Steve, Alison, Memaw, Grammy, Eric, Laura, Christy, and Dean, and Sharon. We thought he would be happy to have an audience, but I guess we were wrong. He still hung on. Scott, Renee, and Jill came by and people came and went. Jake's cousin, Ethan, talked to him over the phone, and still Jake hung on. I lost track of the number of friends and family who came by and if I have forgotten anyone, forgive me. Still Jake hung on. Around 10:00 p.m. we made everyone leave and Johnny, Memaw, and I settled in for the night. I decided to take the first shift and sit up with Jake (and Candy who had returned). At one time I lay down beside Jake and slept. Still he hung on. At 4:15 a.m., Johnny came in and relieved me and I went to bed until 7:15 a.m. Still Jake hung on. Jake's roommate Ryan, who had been in Hawaii for the week with his family came straight from the airport to see Jake and we thought maybe Jake was waiting to see Ryan. While we let Ryan have some alone time with Jake, I asked Candy why she thought Jake was still hanging on and she said that it might be he didn't want us to have to witness his dying and that he wanted to be alone with God when he died. That was hard for me to hear, but after Ryan left, I again said my good-byes to Jake and said if that was what he wanted, to not have us witness his death, I would give him his wish, but that if it wasn't what he wanted, I would be back in his room in 10 to 15 minutes. Candy and Sharon, who had arrived for the shift change, decided to get Jake turned and cleaned up for the day, and while they were doing it, Jake put a smile on his face and died. I probably would have doubted the nurses if it hadn't been for Johnny leaving his cell phone in the room and Sarah calling. Johnny stepped into the room for a second to get his phone, snuck a peek at Jake, and saw the smile on his face. (lucky Johnny!) So Jake went as peacefully as we could have prayed for, in his and God's way, and in his and God's time.
Thank you so much for all your prayers, thoughts, cards, food, tears, hands, and love for us and especially, Jake. I know he must have felt the love surrounding him and coming to him over the miles. We couldn't have done it without you all out there and your prayers. Some of you we have seen, some of you we have spoken to, some of you have left the written word, and some of you are totally anonymous but each of you was important to Jake in a special way during his "journey." As I've said, we were only supposed to have him for 3-6 months and we had him for 19 months. They are nineteen months that we will all treasure in our hearts and memories. Please keep Jake alive in your hearts. I pray that all of you reading this believe that Jesus Christ is your Savior. Jake did and he is playing soccer with Him in heaven right now. I will see Jake again and I rejoice in that fact. It will help me get through the days, months, and years without Jake here on Earth. I know someday I will see my son again and live with him and God's son in heaven.


Keep praying,
Carolyn/Mom

If you need directions to our house for Jake's visitation on Friday, please call us at 817-451-2515.