Prayers For My Nephew Jake

I am writing this from an airplane on my way home from Southern California after visiting my nephew, Jake, who has been lying motionless in a hospital bed for the last 16 days.

Jake is an unbelievable 17-year old, great baseball player, as well as a type 1 diabetic. He has had diabetes since he was 20 months old. He could not breath the afternoon of December 15th and told his dad he was loosing sensation in his feet. He later collapsed and has been on a ventilator and unable to move his arms and legs since. He was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO).  NMO is a rare relapsing autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation in the optic nerve and spinal cord.

I went out to California to support my sister and to love on my nephew. Everyone thinks they have problems, I am the first to admit, especially watching my daughter struggle with her Wolfram syndrome. However, when you sit in a hospital room all day and watch your 17-year old nephew lie there limp, unable to move anything, we should all be thankful for the problems we have because someone else always has it worse.

It broke my heart because three of his best friends and teammates came over to see him after baseball practice and they all asked him how he was doing. He mouthed, “I can’t move.”  He should be the one in that uniform worrying about baseball, what he is going to do on Friday night, homework, etc., not wondering if he is ever going to walk again, use his arms or breath on his own. But for now, all we can do is wait, hope and pray.

A Caring Bridge page has been set up for Jake Peters where you can follow along with his story and progress.  We welcome any prayers, thoughts and get well wishes for Jake.  Thank you!