Evergreen State ping
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Evergreen State ping
FReepmail sionnsar if you want on or off this ping list.
Ping sionnsar if you see a Washington state related thread.
Hey there...anymore updates on this little guy?
I am going to go do a search on it!
BRB
Benefit For Boy With Rare Infection Draws Hundreds
February 24, 2006
By Kevin Reece
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FERNDALE - Jake Finkbonner spent his 6th birthday in the hospital fighting for his life. Friday night in Ferndale his hometown joined in that fight with him.
Jake has a rare and often deadly infection. A cut on his lip became infected with Type-A strep, the same bacteria that causes strep throat. But the Ferndale kindergartner's infection quickly became a fast-spreading case of necrotizing fasciitis sometimes called flesh-eating bacteria.
The bacteria gives off deadly toxins, the skin and soft tissue are slowly eaten away, and his own body's attempt to fight the infection produces severe swelling which can damage even more tissue.
To save his life, doctors have to remove the damaged tissue on his face, head, and neck to stave off the infection's constant advance. His fight is hour by hour, day by day.
"At this hour our little Jake is still with us and every day that we are given with Jake is a celebration of life." That was part of message from Jake's parents read by their Catholic priest Friday night.
He read that message to more than 600 people who crowded into the Ferndale High School cafeteria to give their prayers, and their money, to the Finkbonner family. Jake's picture was placed on every table in a cafeteria filled mostly with people he's never met.
"I think whether you know the family or you don't people want to help," said family friend Kendra Cristelli.
The cafeteria hosted a spaghetti dinner. With food donated and catered by local businesses, an overflow crowd feasted after filling a donation box: money for Jake's lengthy and expensive fight.
Jake remains in critical condition at Children's Hospital in Seattle. He is heavily sedated and is undergoing daily surgeries as doctors try to prevent the bacteria from spreading.
Part of his treatment includes hours spent in the hyperbaric chamber at Virginia Mason in Seattle. That alone can cost as much as $7,000 a day.
"It's an incredible comfort to know that there are people that are pulling for you, praying for you, and that's the big thing," said Jake's aunt, JoAnn Bellefeuille.
"Knowing that down the road that Jake is accepted by this group no matter how he looks or what the problems are that he faces that this group of people will be there to support him and catch him...and love him," said his aunt, Mary Cardoza.
And at the back of the cafeteria these several hundred new friends and supporters signed posters and get well cars for the 6-year-old.
They also sang a chorus of "Happy Birthday." Jake spent his 6th birthday in the hospital and never got to hear it. Now his hometown is praying that a year from now they'll get to sing it to him again.
"He's our Jakie and and we don't want to let him go," said Cardoza. "He has a life to live and and it is wonderful that it can be in this community because these people will help him live that life well."
A second benefit is planned for Sunday night in the Ferndale High School auditorium. Ticket sales for the event featuring comedian Ryan Stiles have already raised an additional $12,000.
If you would like to help, the family has set up a fund for Jake. Anyone can make donations to the "Jacob Finkbonner Fund" at any Wells Fargo branch or any Industrial Credit Union.
