Noseguard

About 6 weeks after Jacob's 13th birthday was the beginning of football season again.  He was picked for a great team with Coach Potter, the team he hoped for along with a best friend, Tyler.  Of the twenty-something kids on the team, Jacob was the one and only "x-man".  This meant that he was bigger than the average player and could only play "the line".  They put a big white X on his helmet and he was always easy to find on the field during games or practice...all I had to do was look for that big white X. 
Watching him was a little hard this season.  Our little athlete was struggling really hard this year.  Our competetive kid who always had to be first at everything was always the last one around the laps as they ran, he struggled through pushups, down-ups and every other drill they put him through.  It was hard to watch and my heart broke as I watched his self-esteem struggle to stay on top of his game.
He still always managed to make us proud and he worked so hard to do his best every day, every practice, every game. 
On the day of tryouts, we stopped at a friend's house to pick up a chinstrap for his helmet.  We were running a little late, so it had to be a quick stop. He was so excited to get to the tryouts, but equally excited to get that new chinstrap.  He jumped out of the van and ran to the door where the little brown lunchsack was waiting for him.  Picking it up, he didn't even slow down, but turned to run full speed back to the van.  He didn't even look up to see the underside of a cement flight of stairs leading up to the next floor of the apartments. Slam...he took the impact right smack in the middle of his face! Only about 6 weeks before, he had broken his nose on the side rail of a trampoline.  It was finally all healed and there it went again. Twice, in just 6 weeks...he broke his nose!  Ironically, he went on to play noseguard for coach Potter's team and they won the championship.

Eight months later, just after diagnosis... Reese Kimball remembered how he had broken his nose right in front of their apartment door.  (He's probably reminded each time he steps outside and sees the new rails they installed all over the apartment complex after Jacob's accident)  Reese sent Jacob a handmade card that read inside, "Anyone who can break their nose twice and still play football - can beat cancer!"