Jacob Smith, Age 13
Burlington, WI

Home and Family

Jacob lives with his mom Bobbi Ann, dad Kerry, and sister Jessica. Jacob’s dog Minnie is small enough to ride with him in his power wheelchair!

Diagnosis

Jake was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2 at 14-months of age. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic disease affecting the part of the nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movement. The biggest potential problems in SMA are respiratory muscle weakness, swallowing muscle weakness, and back muscle weakness with progressive spinal curvature.

School

Jake is an 8th grader in Burlington, WI. His favorite classes are math and science – he is a straight A student!

Interests

Jake loves to play with Legos and watch Super Hero movies. His favorite movies include Transformers, The Avengers, Iron Man, and any Marvel movie! He is a huge Milwaukee Brewers fan and loves the Green Bay Packers, but his very favorite sport is hockey. Jacob goes to as many Milwaukee Admirals games as possible. He dreams of playing Xbox One for days on end!

MDA Activities

Jakes favorite week of the year is MDA Summer camp! His favorite things at camp are sports, Harley rides, and fishing. Jake has had the honor of working with numerous sponsors that support MDA and participates heavily in the Shamrock program, Lock- Ups and Harley-Davidson events. He loves to assist at various golf outings where for a small donation he will offer club selection advice or tell a joke. In 2014 Jacob attended over 20 Fill the Boot events in Wisconsin and he is looking forward to all of the MDA events he will get to attend this year!