Summerville resident Judy Jacobs’ life has completely changed since her husband was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia two years ago.
She doesn’t ride her bicycle as much anymore, because a long ride would put her too far away from her husband, Neil, who needs her to take care of him.
Instead, she jogs a 3.5-mile loop around her Ashborough neighborhood. But she keeps an eye on the home's garage door; if it's open when she passes her house, that means Neil needs her for something.
She worries about Neil when he gets even so much as a cold, since his immune system is so compromised.
It’s painful to see her husband so ill. A former Ironman competitor and marathon runner, Neil has lost feeling in his legs and feet. He now uses a walker. He used to be so physically active, she says. In fact, his doctors first thought his sudden weakness was due to overtraining.
But when the bone marrow test results came back, they showed significant deterioriation of his bone marrow, and his immune system was dangerously compromised. His body was battling blood cancer.
“It’s like he doesn’t have an immune system (now),” Jacobs said.
Jacobs, 65, found comfort and helpful information from the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a voluntary health agency that provides funding and education about many forms of blood and bone marrow cancers.
The organization does everything from providing discussion boards for patients and their families to helping cancer patients pay for medication.
Its goal is to improve the quality of life for those suffering from the degenerative disease.
Jacobs is raising funds for the organization in two ways — and she is allowing people in Summerville to help as well.
Jacbos makes jewelry for a living, and has decided to send all the proceeds from her jewelry sales in the month of August to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
“It’s 100 percent — not 10 percent," she explained. "I am not only giving my time, but also my supplies,” Jacobs added. Her pieces can be found at the Art Central Gallery in Summerville and also The Courtyard Art Gallery in downtown Charleston.
She said she makes all types of jewelry using natural stones.
“I don’t do anything very delicate,” Jacobs.
She’s also running a marathon with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training.
She’s hoping to raise $3,000 in donations before the race in October, and all the money will go to the organization. She’s a little more than halfway to her goal.
“I want to raise public awareness about the incidents (of cancers),” Jacobs said. “You (normally) don’t think about how many different cancers there are. We’re seeing more and more of this (kind), and this organization does a wonderful job.”
Her husband is her biggest supporter, and even participated in a race recently, finishing it with his walker.
“(Cancer patients) are the real heroes,” Jacobs states on her fundraising website.
“We need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!”
To learn more about the Team in Training, or to make a donation, visit http://pages.teamintraining.org/sc/diswine10/jjacobsza9.
Her jewelry can be found at Art Central Gallery, located at 130 Central Avenue. The Courtyard art gallery is located at 149 East Bay Street in downtown Charleston.
 
Contact Jenny Peterson at 873-9424 ext. 216 or JPeterson@journalscene.com.