#jakestrong

On the evening of Tuesday March 10th, Jake was playing basketball when he suddenly collapsed and went into cardiac arrest. CPR was started at the gym, and continued until the paramedics got there and took over care. They continuously revived him while transporting him to Renown Medical Center where he was admitted to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Jake was in the ICU at Renown until Thursday March 12th. He has been in critical condition and has been fighting very hard. The healthcare team at Renown worked tirelessly to stabilize him, comfort him, and keep him going. The cardiologist found an abnormality of his heart. They placed an Impella Heart Pump to stabilize him while arrangements were made to transfer him to another hospital that can accommodate his critical cardiac needs. Ultimately,  Jake needs a heart transplant. Despite all of this, when the nurses ceased Jake's sedation and asked him to squeeze their hands and give a thumbs up and nod to the name of his wife, he did all of them correctly, proving his brain function seems to be intact, which is such awesome news!

On the evening of Thursday March 12th, Jake was transferred to Stanford Medical Center and has been placed on an  artificial heart machine, called  ECMO. This is allowing Jake's heart and body to rest while the machine does the work for him. The details are still unknown, but getting Jake to Stanford is a huge step in the right direction.

Jake and his beautiful wife Hannah are from Reno and have been active parts of the community their entire lives. We have seen what this community is capable of if we all come together, and what the strength of love and support can do. Even with insurance coverage, there will be many financial needs Jake, Hannah and his family will experience. They both have a long journey ahead of them so we are asking most importantly for all of the positive thoughts, vibes, prayers and energy to be sent to Hannah, to Jeanne, to Toby, to Dustin, to Casey, to Hannah's parents and brothers, and to the rest of their loved ones; and if you are in a place to contribute anything at all to help alleviate the financial portion of their journey it would be appreciated more than you know. 

Those of us who have the pleasure of knowing Jake know that he is an exceptional person, husband, son, brother, friend, cousin, uncle, nephew and grandson. And for those who don't, here is a little snippet about our Jakey...

Jake is exceptional. He is a rock for so many people in his life. He is smart, he is hardworking, he is loving, he is hilarious, he is selfless, he is kind, he is fair, and he would give a stranger the shirt off his back. Jake loves a good joke and a great conversation. Jake is the person that you can pick up exactly where you left off even if you haven’t spoken in months. He is the person that gives you the tough advice, the stuff you don't want to hear, but need to hear. He knows just how hard to push you with love and intention into the right direction to help you grow. Jake hates planning, spontaneity has always been his jam; but he’ll crush the important tasks when he needs too. He takes care of his people.

He loves his trips to the ocean (mostly Fort Bragg), sky diving, and traveling this beautiful world with Hannah. He loves his family. He loves his friends. He loves his dogs. And we know whoever knows Jake LOVES him. But for those who don't know him nor have had the chance to love him, we hope we painted a clear picture of the amazing man that he is.

In an effort to allow Jake's family to focus all their energy on him healing we ask that you reach out to us or visit this Go Fund Me page for any updates and questions. 

Lots of Love
#JAKESTRONG

“You can't be hurt like this, you're Superman." (Remember the Titans)
 - Jake is our Superman, and as unfathomable as it is for all us to think we would ever be in this situation, Superman can handle it, and so can Jake ❤️