Jakobe Washington’s story is a testament to kindness, faith and perseverance. The boy said he used these lessons to help him push through the other side of cancer.
What You Need To Know
- Jakobe was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia shortly after his eighth birthday
- He goes to Johns Hopkins for check-ups but has beaten cancer
- Follow his journey on Facebook
- Visit GoFundMe page to help family
“It really helps me when I pray to God,” said Jakobe. “He helps me get courage and gives me great thoughts."
Jakobe was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia shortly after his eighth birthday.
“I got the phone call from a doctor at his bedside letting us know they don’t have the for sure diagnosis but they were pretty sure that he had cancer, leukemia,” said Jakobe’s mom, Imeria Price. “It felt like we were hit by a freight train.”
Imeria Price said her and Jakobe’s dad were on the way to the hospital when they got that phone call. Prior to that, the family was in Georgia at a Jakobe’s baseball tournament. When he fell ill, Price said he was taken to a local hospital. Doctors told them he would need to be airlifted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in St. Petersburg.
“It was scary; my son was on a helicopter for the first time in his life and we still didn’t know what was going on at that time,” said Price. “It’s been a year as of last week and that day is still hard; I kept checking on him to make sure he was good.”
Jakobe, now 9, beat cancer and even though he still visits John Hopkins every two weeks for routine check-ups he said he’s happy to have his life back.
“I was really scared,” said Jakobe. “Now I get to play outside again and play baseball with my dad - it’s better.”
Imeria and Jakobe’s dad quit their jobs last year to take care of Kobe. They say this put a huge financial strain on the family and growing medical bills.
“We have other kids too but it was just really hard trying to be with Kobe in the hospital while putting all that strain on the other parent,” said Imeria. “This was during COVID so most times, we couldn’t be in there together so we started a Go Fund Me page.”
The community raised thousands of dollars for Kobe who now says he prays for the kids he met while he was in the hospital.
“They were encouraging me to keep strong so, when I got out of the hospital, I can pray for them so they can get out of the hospital,” said Kobe.
Check out Jakobe’s journey on his Facebook page.