Standing at an imposing 6’3 height, looking at Jacob you wouldn’t know he had a heart problem growing up. Born and raised in Toronto, Jacob was only too familiar with Sick Kids Hospital and living with a lifelong heart condition. But at 22 years old, Jacob has learned to live with his condition and we at Chai Lifeline were able to meet with him so he could update us on how he is doing.

Those that have been part of our Chai family may recognize Jacob from some of our Sing for the Children concerts we have held over the past decade. As an annual fundraising event in support of our organization, we always take the opportunity to introduce you to some of our Chai Warriors. In 2017, Jacob shared his story from the stage at Roy Thompson Hall.

Living with a rare form of cardiomyopathy, Jacob was just five years-old when he first fainted, resulting in receiving both a defibrillator and pace maker to short success. With the constant travels to and from the hospital for different strategies, it was at eight years-old when his parents were told by his team of doctors at Sick Kids Hospital that his pacemaker and defibrillator were not working. He was growing too tall, too fast and his doctors recommended that an emergency heart transplant would be the only successful path. After receiving a heart at such a young age, his doctors marvelled at the speed at which Jacob was both fortunate enough to become a recipient and recover. He still remembers the feeling of finally being able to leave the hospital after living there for three and a half months. He had despaired from ever truly going home, and thought they were taking him for a walk to Marnie’s Lounge, an activity room in Sick Kids Hospital!

But just as anyone who knows Jacob would imagine, this easygoing and optimistic boy learned quickly enough to adapt to his replacement heart. For his first three weeks home, with a fresh scar, Jacob was very frightened to do too much. But kids will be kids – they are resilient. Before long, Jacob was back at school, at first for only half a day. Taking things easy, he used the elevator instead of the stairs to get to his classes on the fifth floor. Just a few short weeks later, he was back full-time, with a few modifications in his day-to-day school life. Wearing an umpire’s protective chest plate for any physical activity he participated in was something that didn’t faze him — he was just happy to be back at school – and thankfully is something he doesn’t need to do anymore!