We are so excited to share Jacob’s recent 6-month biopsy results show no active rejection. His medical team is pleased with his results and are making no changes.

Speaking of progress, Jacob is absolutely blowing us away in cardiac rehab! When we first started, his big goal was to eventually be able to climb the flight of stairs to the 2nd floor at Riverplex where rehab is. A few weeks in, he gained enough strength and confidence to start taking the stairs down after rehab. But for this past week, he has been climbing those stairs up to rehab as well. He still has five weeks of rehab left, but seeing his physical gains and determination to keep going is really inspiring.

During our time in St. Louis, we also met with the ENT team. Unfortunately, Jacob’s left vocal cord has not shown the improvement we had hoped for, and the medical team does not expect it to recover at this stage. However, the good news is that his body is compensating remarkably well. The ENT will continue to monitor him closely, but no additional interventions are needed right now.

Because all teams are happy with his progress, we don’t have to return to St Louis for three months! That is 12 full weeks without a single procedure. Having this “procedure vacation” is a dream come true for our entire family. However, I think the update that Jacob is most excited about is the team officially gave him the “all clear” to go visit Grandpa in Florida.

This has been the goal for Jacob since his first day on the transplant list. Since being listed, he has been unable to travel too far from our transplant center but now he can visit Grandpa and the ocean and he cannot wait. We are currently getting something planned for him this summer!

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who is keeping Jacob in their thoughts and prayers. Your support, prayers and encouragement are changing his life every single day.