Jake's Story —

It was Memorial Day 2004 when he was 2 1/2 years old that Jake Owen Raborn was diagnosed with cancer of the liver (hepatoblastoma, Stage 4). For more than two years he received an endless cycle of treatments from world-recognized specialists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

In all, Jake underwent 857 days of treatment. Over that time he received 20 rounds of chemotherapy and 15 rounds of radiation. He had 11 major surgeries or procedures, including three lung surgeries, two brain surgeries and one liver surgery.

In February 2006, Jake received a bone-marrow transplant as another form of therapy to fight the disease. He was only the second person in the world to receive this type of transplant for this kind of cancer. Like other treatments, it took its toll. But Jake went on to beat septic shock as well as a severe fungus that required him to be on a ventilator for over a month. Still, the world of medicine could only keep Jake with us so long.

He earned his angel wings peacefully at home with his family in West Monroe, Louisiana, on October 5, 2006.

Throughout all those days, Jake's brave struggle inspired the entire Northeast Louisiana region, and beyond, to come to the aid, emotionally and financially, of the Don and Staci Raborn family. Groups from all over the region conducted fundraisers to help defray expenses. Churches and prayer groups regularly lent their support

Team Jake, in fact, comprised of over a hundred runners from Northeast Louisiana, raised $60,000 at the annual St. Jude Memphis Marathon in December 2006. Now, Team Jake plans to participate annually in the marathon.

Then, just about two months to the day after Jake’s passing, something happened that the Raborns can only attribute to their Angel Jake. They won $4.3 million! Right out of the blue – or out of a slot machine at a Shreveport casino to be exact. They were at a Target store to print some Christmas cards that Jake had designed when Don Raborn said “Let's stop by the boat for a little while.” After about 20 minutes or so at one of the machines, Staci pulled the slot machine lever – it was tied in with other machines at other casinos and the pot built progressively – and hit the heavenly jackpot!

That remarkable stroke of luck only served as a further impetus to put into action a plan the family had conceived shortly after Jake's passing. It would help fund the Jake Owen Raborn Foundation, which they would set up to help other families defray medical expenses incurred by caring for children with pediatric cancer. “We have benefited so much from the generosity of others,” Don said. “Through the Foundation we can now pay it forward. We can now help others and ask them to pass it on. That's what people did for us and for Jake. We know that's what Jake wants and why this happened.”

The strength and determination that the Don and Staci Raborn family showed during Jake's long illness were an encouragement to so many along the way. Now through the Jake Owen Raborn Foundation their work will most certainly serve as an inspiration to all of us.