Our 12-year-old  grandson took his own life on 4-10-13.  My heart is broken, he was a very special little boy, a strong Christian who carried Philippians 4:13 on his  phone.

He was so caring, sensitive, a beautiful “inside & outside”  child.  We think his action was influenced by medications he had been on for over 4 years for juvenile epilepsy; he had no seizures for the period of time he was on the  medications.

There were no signs; he had a wonderful family, lots of  friends, played sports. There were around 2000 people at his funeral…he touched so many lives in his 12 short years of life.  Our family will never  be the same, but we have peace that he is with God and that we will one day see  him in Heaven.  But I am still so sad and cry many times every day…Jake was my special buddy and was learning to play guitar because he knew that would  please me.

Two weeks before he passed away, he told me he was ready to  give me a “private concert. ”We asked Cheryl if we could publish her letter above and her answer was, “Yes, you may go forward to tell Jake’s story; maybe we can help another family, if there is a chance that his action was caused by his medication combination for the juvenile epilepsy.

I pray that no other family will ever have to experience the loss of a beloved child in this manner. “Seven families in our neighborhood are planting a Blue Spruce tree in our backyard to honor Jake.  We will light it at Christmas time hoping Jake can see it from Heaven. The outpouring of love, prayer and caring from friends and family has comforted our family and we are deeply grateful.

Our thoughts are with Cheryl and her family as we are saddened by this tragedy very much