In the Jan. 10, 2010 issue of the Independent, we published a story about a pregnant Belleville resident with a brain tumor who asked the community for help in preserving umbilical cord blood for her baby’s future.
Abigail Jacobsen, 23, and her healthy daughter Katherine, born April 16, 2010, dropped by recently to give our readers an update.
Abigail, a single mother, said after her plea to the community, she received enough money to register her placenta blood and to keep it stored for six to seven years.
She said Paula’s Home Cookin’ generously got her buddies together to help. Someone donated a flat-screened, plasma TV and it was raffled off, and the proceeds from that, with the 50-50 raffle and 10% of the tabs from Paula’s customers pretty much covered everything. Others in the community pitched in, too.
Abigail needed $1,500 initially, followed by $125 per year.
After her baby was born, the newborn’s umbilical cord blood was stored through CryoCell International for potential use against many diseases in little Katherine’s future. This was a comfort to the young mother.
Abigail was first diagnosed with a benign brain tumor at the age of 8 and then, at the age of 15, it was malignant and she had it removed. It came back seven years later. Seven years seems to be her cycle, Abigail said.
She wanted to wait until after her baby was born to treat this latest tumor. On July 27, 2010 she had surgery at the University of Michigan, followed by weeks of radiation.
Her neurosurgeon told her they got all of the tumor but a small residue which they couldn’t scrape off because it could damage her brain and turn her into a vegetable. He told her the tumor will come back and they cannot do any more surgery.
Last Halloween Abigail with her head in a scarf to cover her baldness and little Katherine in an angel’s costume and riding in a stroller enjoyed the annual trick-or-treat event in downtown Belleville.
Abigail and Katherine have lived in several locations since her story was published and now she is back in Belleville on North Edgemont St. She and Katherine can be seen a lot walking around town. They have to walk everywhere they go because Abigail doesn’t have a car.
She survives on Social Security Disability payments and help from Angels for Hope, an organization that helps cancer patients. Others in town, who know of her needs, pitch in to help, too – most quietly and without fanfare.
She struggles with the effects from the brain surgery, including some loss of cognitive thinking and some memory loss. She and her father had a break in their relationship and no longer speak.
But, Katherine is a healthy and happy child. Mother and child play together, tease each other and laugh. There is a lot of cuddling and smiles.
Abigail figures she has seven years to enjoy her daughter and she’s making the most of it.
Abigail and Katherine Jacobsen