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ZZUNUSED
Walk-a-thon raises funds for South Point boy with cancer
Friends and students show up at South Point High School on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008, for a walk-a-thon to benefit Jacob Thacker, 5-year-old boy from South Point who is battling cancer.
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SOUTH POINT -- Many of the more than 100 people walking around South Point High School's track Saturday morning have never met Jacob Thacker. Some don't even know the family.
But a community saw a need and responded. Jacob Thacker is a 5-year-old South Point boy who is battling cancer at Cincinnati's Children's Hospital. His mother, Stacy, is social worker, whose main job has been to provide services to families and children. Now, she is getting some desperately needed help.
"She just does a lot to help the our community," said South Point High School nurse Michelle West, who organized Walk for Jacob. "When I found out her son had brain cancer, I wanted to do something to help out."
The family, West said, wanted to be at the track Saturday, but Jacob just wasn't well enough to leave the hospital. She said he has an infection that doctors need to take care before he can start intense chemotherapy.
But she said Stacy can feel the outpouring of support and prayers, even though their situation has been emotionally draining.
West said Jacob's parents aren't working and have been in Cincinnati for at least the past six weeks, living in a camper because there is just nowhere else to stay.
"She is very grateful," West said. "She said she can't even express in words how thankful they are."
The walk raised money, but it also showed how a community can rally around one of its own. South Point High School freshmen Haley Mills and Brooke Hale said being out on the track was a symbol that people do care. And, Mills said, every penny can make a difference.
"It's a small part of finding a cure," Mills said. "Any money helps get you that much closer."
What the Thackers are going through also touched the hearts of many parents. West has a 6-month-old, and she said she couldn't imagine the heartache of a mother.
"They need all the help and prayers we can give them," added West's father, Marty Patrick.
