February 19, 2009

A service dog for Jake

Kiwanis helps local 5-year-old get service dog

By Carol Rosen
Editor

At a ceremony early Thursday morning at the Cup and Saucer Restaurant in the former Mervyns Plaza, the Kiwanis Club of Almaden presented a $5,000 check to the parents of Jacob Wiebe, a 5-year-old who suffers from a rare brain tumor called juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma or JPA.

Jacob, who often likes to be called Jake, was diagnosed with the tumor at 16 months. He has gone through 65 weeks of chemotherapy and while his tumor has so far remained the same size, it has occasionally sent out cysts that must be removed. And, while he remains a happy child, he longs to be independent, to play sports and go to school like his two older brothers—Owen, who is 7 and Christian who is 8 years old.

A JPA develops from certain star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes, according to a Web site describing the tumors. Astrocytes and similar cells form tissue that surrounds and protects other nerve cells found within the brain and spinal cord. Collectively, these cells are known as glial cells and the tissue they form is known as glial tissue. Tumors that arise from glial tissue, including astrocytomas, are collectively referred to as gliomas.

Astrocytomas come in four grades based upon how fast the cells are reproducing and the likelihood that they will spread (infiltrate) nearby tissue. Grades I or II are nonmalignant and may be referred to as low-grade. JPA are Grade I tumors and, unlike the low-grade astrocytomas of adults, rarely up-grade and become malignant.

Jake’s Grade I tumor cuts off neural projections and grows cysts, which must then be removed, said his mother Christina Wiebe. Up to now there hasn’t been much research devoted to the tumor because it is so rare, she explained. However, there are some new technologies, including ultrasound vibrations to break up the tumors that are working in some cases, but not for Jake because his is attached to his brain stem.

“Our hope is that because there are more children surviving from JPA that it will bring more awareness to the area,” Christina explained. She hopes there could be some breakthroughs with stem cells or new chemotherapy.

Until last September, Jake’s tumor was kept pretty much in the family. But Jakes parents wanted to get him a service dog and needed a video to send to Oregon so that the dog trainers could match Jake’s personality to one of their dogs.

That’s where the Kiwanis Club came in. The Wiebes went to Almaden Valley Videotaping on Almaden Expressway where owner Martha Kelley did a free videotape for Jake’s application for a service dog. But Kelley and Kiwanis Club President Bob Coelho decided to take the situation to the Almaden Kiwanis Club and see if the service club could raise money to help the family.

And, that’s exactly what the club did. The members sought donations; nothing was too big or too small, until they raised $5,000. The money they raised will help buy the $1,000 dog and pay expenses for Christina, her husband Scott and Jake to fly to Oregon, spend two weeks training and then come home. Actually Scott will return home after getting his wife and son settled so that he can take care of Christian and Owen.

Jake has been approved for a dog and remains on the waiting list until the group finds a dog to match his personality. “The soonest we can go in July, but we may find out [about the dog] as early as April,” Christina said.

But the club isn’t really finished helping. As Jake has gotten older he has lost some of his arm and leg mobility and now needs a power wheelchair so that he can get around and be independent. Power wheelchairs don’t come cheap, they cost around $20,000.

And the Kiwanis Club is not without help. Some of the Wiebe’s friends from Almaden Country Day School, where the grandparents are providing an education for Christian and Owen, are helping too.

“My friends at Almaden Country School put together Jake’s Web site at www.jacobwiebe.com and others are holding a fundraiser at Courtside Club in Los Gatos. In March, while Jake and I are at Oakland Children’s Hospital for rehabilitation services, our friends are planning to make dinners to help Scott take care of Owen and Christian,” Christina said.

For more about Jake, to see photos and other events for helping to buy his wheelchair, and to see Martha Kelley’s video, visit the Web site www.jacobwiebe.com.