It Takes A Takes a Village

My name is Therese aka second mom to this amazing young man named Jalen Rodriguez. I write this in a fog, in shock and with great sadness. On Sunday evening 17-year-old Jalen suffered a severe asthma attack that has left him fighting for his life. Jalen was without oxygen for a prolonged period of time and is currently on life support. We know that right now things are dire for Jalen and we are going hour by hour. He is never alone, surrounded by those who love him dearly, talking to him about how annoying he can be, how you can’t stay mad at him because his smile breaks you every time. You read posts about people when something tragic has happened and people always say they are a great person. Jalen isn’t just a great person, he is one of a kind, they broke the mold after him. He is caring, empathetic, compassionate, loves volleyball and loves his family and friends fiercely. Some may say that Jalen can’t hear us, we believe that he can. I promised him tonight that we will look after his mom Kim who hasn’t left his side. We don’t know what the outcome of this tragic event will be, my mind doesn’t want to go to there, I can’t type it, I can’t say it. Regardless Jalen’s mom will have expenses, even in the best-case scenario Jalen will require prolonged rehabilitation. There are many questions that we don’t have the answers to. I would ask that you share this not only because Jalen’s family needs our help, but we would like to know who performed CPR on Jalen? Who was the person that gave Jalen at least a chance to fight? We will update the page when Jalen’s condition changes. It takes a village. We are here for you Jalen. We love you! No parent should have to go through this.