The Ultimate Sacrifice: Teen Mom Stopped Chemo
Teenagers can often be stereotyped as being selfish. But that's a word you definitely couldn't use to describe 17-year-old Jennifer "Jenni" Lake. This selfless teen mom stopped all cancer treatments designed to save her own life, and gladly paid the ultimate price so that her unborn baby could live.
Credit: Facebook / In loving memory of Jennifer Michelle Lake
Jenni was 16 and a sophomore at Pocatello High School in Idaho when the migraines started. An MRI uncovered a brain tumor, and the teen started chemotherapy right away. The tumor had started to shrink, but then Jenni got some surprising news -- she was 10-weeks pregnant!
Her options were pretty limited. Either 1) abort her baby, 2) end her treatments or 3) carry on with both the pregnancy and the treatments, risking the health of the baby. But to Jenni, there was only ever one choice.
The teen mom stopped her treatments immediately, worrying that the two rounds of chemo she'd undergone before discovering her pregnancy may have already hurt her unborn son.
Just one month before her 18th birthday, Jenni gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby boy -- Chad Michael Lake, a combination of the names of both of his grandfathers.
Credit: Facebook / In loving memory of Jennifer Michelle Lake
Jenni's family had been hopeful that she'd be able to resume chemo once Chad was born. Unfortunately, doctors discovered that her tumors had grown, and the cancer had spread to her spinal column. There was nothing left to be done.
But that was okay with Jenni. She was comforted in the knowledge that her son was alive and well. After his delivery, a weary but happy Jenni turned to the nurse and said,
"I’m done. I did what I was supposed to. My baby is going to get here safe.”
Credit: Facebook / In loving memory of Jennifer Michelle Lake
Jenni spent 12 days doting on her precious baby boy. And then it was time for her to leave this world.
Her last wish was to have her baby by her side. It was a wish fulfilled. Little Chad lay next to his mom, who'd lost most of her sight due to the tumor, as she used her last breath to wistfully say, “I can kind of see him.”
Credit: Facebook / In loving memory of Jennifer Michelle Lake
Chad, who is now 4 years old, is being raised by his father, Nathan Wittman, with the help of his mother, as well as Jenni's.
Though Chad will never know his mother, he'll feel her love with each breath. Her incredible sacrifice has touched the hearts of so many, and a loved one wrote on the In Loving Memory Of Jennifer Michelle Lake Facebook page,
"You are the reason i see the good in people now because everyone has a reason to be here..."
Credit: Facebook / In loving memory of Jennifer Michelle Lake
What an incredible legacy, and a beautiful example of the depths of a mother's love!
