This is Jake; he is a young man with DMD (Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy) who has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Jake has been invited to play for the USA Under 18's Power Soccer Team! This is an amazing opportunity that he simply cannot pass up! Jake is an amazing Power Soccer Player and it has changed his life for the better. DMD is a progressive muscle wasting disease that robs boys of their ability to walk. In spite of having DMD, Jake always stays positive and has a great time living life. Since starting to play Power Soccer Jake has expressed that he wants to someday play for the United States Power Soccer Team…now he has a chance to play for the USA in Paris! Yes, Paris the city in France. Of course this will take money…that’s where you can help.
Danielle and I “met” online when she ran across a post I had done about our family fundraising for the MDA. You can read a few of the posts here and here. I follow Danielle on Facebook and Instagram and feel like I know her and her family even though we have never met.
Here is what Danielle Bath, Jake’s mom, says about Jake and her family: “I want to tell you a bit about our family.
We are a small family living in Sacramento, California. We consist of myself, aka mom & aka Danielle. Dad, Travis. Kids Jake, Emma and Colin. We are a tight family dedicated to each other, and dedicated to living our lives to the fullest. Having fun and making memories are a priority. Seems like atypical family right? In those aspects we are a typical family, except we have a little dark cloud that hangs over us. In October of 2007, we received devastating news that our 2 sons have a condition called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. It is a progressive muscle wasting disease. It takes away boys' ability to walk, and eventually takes their lives sooner than later. Beyond the physical, Duchenne also has the ability to take away a proper childhood. It also can take away hopes and dreams of the future. Need less to say, we have quite the void. A huge part of that void is filled with Power Soccer. Power Soccer gives Jake and our family the chance to get a reprieve from Duchenne, even if only for a few hours. For the last 12 months, we have made the 90 minute (each way) drive from Sacramento to Berkeley to take Jake to practice as a family on Saturdays. With his disability he may have been robbed of the feeling of team spirit, robbed of learning a sport, and working hard at improving his sport. Power Soccer has changed all of that. Jake is part of an amazing team, with a wonderful group of people. Power Soccer is the only place where he does not have to rely on others to do something for him, he is on his own out there on the court making his own decisions. It truly is amazing to watch.”
DMD is something that greatly affects my family as well as my youngest sister has two boys, Beau and Gabe, who also have DMD. My family has been involved in fundraising for the Muscular Dystrophy for several years in the past. Life expectancy is way too short…you can read more about DMD here.
I challenge everyone who reads this to help this family make Jake’s dream come true!
Click on the gofundme box below to help out!
Please consider sharing this on any social networking that you use! Have a great week!
