On Monday afternoon Jacob and his friend were going fishing and decided to ride the e-bike down the main Street Hill. They never even thought something like this could happen as they took the necessary precautions of wearing a helmet. But Jacob was riding down with his buddy on the back, it was a long hill, and it looked at the end of the sidewalk that it was ramp like –a smooth transition onto the street. Even from that view, any person would not see steps, but there were three hidden steps dropping below the end of the sidewalk that were out of sight. Out of nowhere, the bike flipped, Jacob’s friend was left with a few scratches but Jacob was left with a broken mandible, front tooth missing, bloodied legs that were scratched up burned up badly, a wide cut in his lip and also his Chin- both would need stitches. It was going to be a long night at the emergency room, and we had no idea that he would end up having to get his mouth wired shut. We took a Drive via ambulance to Rochester that night, where they did many more x-rays, sent us home to rest and assured us they would call us later to give us a time for surgery. Wednesday morning Jacob had surgery, woke up with a wired mouth, blood coming out of his mouth when he opened it, scared me so badly for when he woke and had to see it. His top and bottom jaw had to be stuck to each other with wires and bands holding them together and he couldn’t open his mouth for the next three to six weeks. This has been the hardest for him. As his mom I feel so sad for him seeing him struggle daily, with frustrations and trying to get across what he needs without being able to talk, sometimes I can understand him but sometimes we have to write things down or come up with their own sign language but this has been a very difficult transition for him because he can only drink liquids–No holes provided for a straw to fit through…makes for a very hangry kid…its not been easy. Doctor says u drink through ur teeth, and sides of cheeks. We had no idea what he was in for. I feel so bad seeing my boy battle this. It’s so sad I’m missing his smile everyday, miserable and feeling stuck and probably like he can’t escape.. I can’t imagine his misery feeling this way, I’m so used to him being bubbly and doing his little dances on tiktok. I miss the cool Charming little boy that he is, I miss his smile and want to do something special for him when this is all done with. In the meantime we have to cover expenses to hotels back and forth for readjustments, out of town probably every two weeks or more, it’s going to be costly. Not only that the cost of getting a partial tooth implant, hopefully insurance will cover something decent, it is going to cost a lot right now and going to cost him more in the future as it’s not a guarantee the fix will be good forever, as it will need replacement at some point. The doctor said that his jaw could still bother him years later and might need to get new surgeries to make him feel better so I worry about the cost financially for that as well. But for now I just want to put a smile back on his face. That day he was taking this trip with his friend, it was his friends ebike they were using as jacob was excited to drive it and to ride on it. But since there was only one bike, they both had to be riding on it . His friend let Jacob drive it . This was going to be fun for jacob, Afterall he had been trying to do everything to get me to buy him one too but they are quite expensive to buy, and quite frankly out of the budget. Jacob always wanted an ebike and of course he still wants one. But I think he learned a few things from this incident.. not sure there was much you could prevent as any person would have missed those steps but at least it will prepare him for riding the bike next time as he’s an adventurous boy that likes to go go and nothing stops him. But my goal is for him to get a new wardrobe and feel good about himself once again after these wires are off and he gets a new tooth. Hopefully I can surprise him with this campaign if it’s successful because the one thing that he loves the most is fashion so it would be awesome for him to be able to go shopping for some new clothes and an ebike of his own, at least then it can be rode the right way with only one person instead of two people on it. And of course, a bike safety class would be good too. As a mom I’d love for him to never ride an e-bike again but he loves adventure and he loves to always be on the go and can’t stay still or put in one place for long without Feeling Extreme boredom. Thankfully his friend’s parents provided a helmet so I’m so thankful that he was wearing one because before this he wouldn’t even put on a helmet with his regular bike, it was always a struggle me asking him.to wear one, so that’s one thing I know will change his life forever, knowing to always wear one cuz he really thought nothing would ever happen to him even on his regular bike. Things like this nobody is prepared for or knew would happen. Whoever expected that the end of the sidewalk that looked like it was a soft ramp transition would drop off as steps and make the bike flip and Jacob flying. So whenever funds I can raise, with your help, will go towards driving for medical appointments, back and forth with hotel stays and meal costs, perhaps an ebike all of his own, without double passenger riding ( not sure that was safe or recommended?) and a new wardrobe to get back his confident feeling good self after his jaw is fixed. He was so torn apart when he lost his front tooth, but at least we are thankful that he’s alive and I promised him that after this, things would come back or feel more normal again. Thanks again for reading the long story. Feel free to share it. If you can help, we would be so grateful…and I hope to surprise him with this campaign if im able to raise funds. As a mom to 5 kids, and caring for my disabled mom that lives wirh me as well, I can’t provide everything all my children wish for, as things can add up quickly but hopefully this campaign will give him some hope and something to look forward to after all this suffering with his mouth wired shut. Thank you once again!
Sincerely–Jacobs Mom
