Jenny lake became a mother for the first time a month before her 18th birthday however she had no intention of being just another adolescent mother she was well aware of this in the hospital she dragged her nurse down to her bedside and murmured into her ear while still in the process of getting admitted jenny’s family’s worst fears were fulfilled a day after jenny’s baby was
Born and the nurse would later repeat the girl’s words to console them she explained to the nurse i’m finished i’ve completed the task at hand my baby is going to make it safely to me jenny’s mother diana phillips expressed her pride in her daughter a photo of nathan whitman’s late fiance who died of cancer shortly after giving birth to their baby over which he is now exclusive custody is displayed in his possession
As jenny lake’s mother diana phillips sobs into the arms of her son as she recalls how brave she was throughout her lengthy battle with cancer she’s joined in her tears by her son the baby’s rosy cheeks and robust weight appear to be in sharp contrast to the fragile girl who gave birth to him in images taken at the time she kisses the top of the newborn’s head as she tightly holds him in her arms jenny was barely five feet four inches
Tall and weighed only 108 pounds at the end of her pregnancy despite her large size mrs phillips learnt the next day that her daughter’s decision to forego treatments for tumors on her brain and spine in order to bear the baby would have grave consequences the day after the baby’s birth on november 9 2001 the malignancy has taken up an inordinate amount of space mrs phillips stated that there was nothing that could
Be done jenny had only been alive for 12 days after her birth with half of that time spent in the hospital and the other half at home when she passed away in spite of this her family and friends maintain that she leaves a legacy that’s concentrated on tragedy rather than sacrifice in the middle of this month jenny’s family gathered at their ranch style home in pocatello where a christmas tree
In the living room was decorated with ornaments chosen specifically for jenny including one in a vivid lime green which is her favorite color the family of jenny lake includes her father mike lake sister casey lake partner nathan whitman mother diana phillips jenny’s newborn son chad michael lake and sister ashley lake among others jenny lake made the decision to forego treatment for tumors on her brain and
Spine in order to give birth to her son chad in good health she’d passed suddenly in a bedroom just a few steps away with her contagious laugh and rebellious streak in mind jenny’s mother hugged her baby close nuzzling his head and said i want him to know everything about her and everything she did i want him to be a part of her life it all started when jenny was a 16 year old sophomore at pocatello high school
And the migraines began the next year she was transported to the family doctor where an mri scan revealed a little lesion on the right side of her brain measuring about two millimeters in diameter she was diagnosed with a brain tumor she was transported to a hospital in salt lake city about 150 miles south of pocatello where a second scan revealed that the lump was significantly larger than initially thought
Jenny underwent a biopsy on october 15 2010 and was diagnosed with stage 3 astrocytoma which is a type of brain tumor five days after the procedure jenny’s situation was considered rare because the cancer had migrated from her brain to another region of her body without any symptoms despite the fact that she had three tumors on her brain and three on her spine her parents who were divorced recall
Being escorted into a hospital room where they were seated at a large table while doctors reviewed her possibilities of surviving the ordeal they were through she asked her parents if she was going to die according to her father mike lake lake is a truck driver who lives in rexburg which is north of pocatello and works in the oil industry the response was unsatisfactory according to mr lake the youngster was
Given a 30 chance of living for another two years if she received therapy mr lake was upset but he couldn’t help but notice how strong she appeared in that moment in his words she didn’t break down and cry or anything like that jenny did however have a weak moment that day according to her mother she became angry when the doctors informed her that she might not be able to have children according to mrs
Phillips age 39 as part of her treatment jenny began severe chemotherapy and radiation treatments she also began producing films on a youtube channel dubbed jenny’s journey where she intended to share her story with others by releasing videos every two days she was only able to post three movies due to the fatigue and weakness she was experiencing as a result of her treatments jenny appears distraught in
Her second video which was posted on november 20th 2010 and is being recorded by a family friend when she’s having lunch with her mother the video shows jenny crying as she describes her experience last night i was just lying in bed thinking about everything that i’d been going through and it just hit me like everything and i don’t know what it was but it made me cry she says her mother’s scene with her hands claps
Around her mouth then she breaks down in tears explaining how difficult it is to be a mother while knowing that your child is ill and that there’s nothing you can do to help her jenny maintains her resolve it’s difficult as in i’m not sure how long this is going to last and i just want it to be over with i feel like this is preventing me from accomplishing so much the tumors had begun to diminish by
March of this year according to the family’s account when jenny was seen at her prom in early may she was dressed in a dark blue strapless dress and flashed a little smile at the photographer her hair is styled with a silver headband that’s less than an inch in length and she wears it down chemotherapy stripped over shoulder length blonde locks nathan whitman who’s dressed
Conservatively in a black dress shirt and black dress pants is cradling her from behind jenny began dating nathan just a few weeks before she was diagnosed with cancer and they’ve been together ever since despite the very adult test that cancer presented the treatments that left her hardly able to walk from her living room to her bedroom and the chatter at school their adolescent romance endured
The rumors started floating about like nathan was only with her because she had cancer said jenny’s older sister ashley lake age 20 who tried to put a stop to the mean-spirited talk even as the young couple chose to ignore it they were optimistic and they hoped to one day start a restaurant or a gallery of their own jenny had been working as an apprentice in a tattoo shop in her hometown in the words of the proprietor cast
Shaken she was like our little sister jenny’s visits to the business on the other hand became less regular in may she’d been vomiting a lot and was experiencing intense stomach pains she and her partner went to the emergency room early one morning and when she returned home her family members were awoken by the sound of sobbing in the background she’d been crying in her room according to jenny’s sister casey age 19 who had overheard
Her she’d revealed that she was expecting a child and an ultrasound revealed that the fetus was 10 weeks old jenny’s path had become someone else’s responsibility her mother claims that she was advised from the beginning of treatment that she might never be able to have children and that the radiation and chemotherapy could practically render her sterile the couple’s son nathan said we were
Told that mom couldn’t become pregnant so we weren’t concerned jenny the third of her parents eight children had always dreamt of being a mother of her own in pocatello idaho she saw an oncologist dr david reary two days after finding out she was pregnant she had already made up her mind to keep the baby when she went to see him she was warned by the doctor that she’d be unable to continue the treatments while pregnant according to mrs phillips
She would either have to abort the pregnancy and continue the therapies or she would have to cease the treatments knowing that the fetus could continue to grow indefinitely dr ryrie declined to comment on jenny’s treatment because of confidentiality regulations but he did say that in general when a cancer patient is pregnant oncologists weigh the risks and benefits of continuing with treatment such as chemotherapy
There are cases during pregnancy breast cancer being the classic example where the benefits of chemotherapy outweigh the risks to the mother and the unborn child dr ryrie explained there are occasions when the risks outweigh the rewards says the author there was no debate about which road jenny would take it was just her she may not have seen it as a life-or-death decision as her parents did not and jenny may not have seen it that way
Either the doctors were confident that because the tumors had already begun to decrease earlier she stood a good chance of being able to take the baby to term and then return to therapy after delivering him after she gave birth her mother explained i guess we were just hopeful that she’d be able to return to chemotherapy and get better jenny and nathan named their son chad michael after their fathers who were
Both military officers while nathan has physical custody of the child the majority of the child’s care is provided by nathan’s mother alexia whitman age 51. nathan will take care of him she explained jenny’s residence is where she brings the baby to visit her family whenever they want her to do so jenny showed no remorse for her decision not even in the later weeks of her pregnancy when she became weaker and not
Even when she began to lose her vision as the disease progressed according to her relatives jenny’s final words according to her father were about her kid who was placed near her for the final time i can kind of see him she added describing her feelings for the baby thanks for reading.