QUEEN CREEK, Arizona — Jacob Priestley is always tired and feels pain all over his body.
“Its very hard to wake up. Sometimes I just lay in bed and keep sleeping,” he said.
The teen has mitochondrial disease, a rare life-threatening illness that’s weakened every cell in his body.
“Since his disease is terminal, we don’t know how many more birthdays he’s going to have with us. So we vowed we would make every birthday bigger and better than last year,” his mother said.
Jacob loves birthday cards. They prove to be the best medicine a 13-year-old stuck at home could ask for, his mother said.
“So far, Jacob has received cards from as far away as England, Australia, even China. And get this he’s also gotten a couple cards from prison inmates!”
Jacob’s actual birthday isn’t until the end of August, but he figures if he wants to reach his goal of more than 10,000, he needs a head start.
You can send him a birthday card here:
Jacob Priestley
P.O. Box 855
Queen Creek, AZ 85142
