Kicking it For Jason Thompson

On Tuesday, June 2, 2009, Jason was told that he had cancer. It was near the end of March 2009 that 28 year old Jason Thompson, a self-employed window washer and post construction clean up provider in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, landed a job that required an extra person and some rented equipment. He called his father, Tony Thompson, who has a similar business in Bozeman, Montana, to come and help him. When Tony arrived toward the end of March, Jason was experiencing pain in his back. Assuming he had hurt it hauling large ladders around, he went first to his chiropractor and then to his doctor. He and his father had more than several false starts after Jason was unable to stand for more than a few minutes. The doctor treated him for sciatic nerve inflammation. Finally, after weeks of pain, a family friend was called to come and complete the job without him. It was during this time that he started waking up in the night soaked with sweat. Since Jason has just had a complete physical in December, his mother assumed he must have an infection somewhere.
On May 27 they went to the emergency room, Jason had lost over 20 pounds and was in constant pain. He was sent home with a prescription for antibiotics, having tested positive for strep throat. The same day his desperate mother called Dr. Johann Coetzee, a local MD and naturopathic practitioner. Dr Coetzee, suspicious after seeing Jason's appearance and hearing the symptoms, gave him a physical, ordered blood work and an ultrasound. On June 2, he gave Jason the terrible news.

Rare form of cancer has local man fighting for his life: Kim Helder knows the odds aren’t good that her son will survive. “I can’t go by what the protocol says,” the Santa Rosa Beach resident said. “I know logically human-wise what the outlook may look like, but I trust that it is going to be different. I don’t want to even give it the vocal power and say anything.” As of Jan. 14, Jason Thompson was in intensive care and in critical condition at the Mayo Clinic.
The self-employed window washer and post construction clean-up provider began having nagging pains in his back and legs in March of 2009. Many doctors' visits later, the 28-year-old discovered that the pain was actually the tumors in his back pressing against his spine. “Jason was so close to passing away before we even got admitted to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville,” Helder said.
Even before Thompson was diagnosed with the very rare form of cancer called Histiocytic Sarcoma/Acute Myloid Leukemia M5, doctors knew something was wrong and started chemotherapy immediately. “His whole body was full of cancer,” Helder said. “He had tumors in his lymph nodes, sinuses, bone marrow, spine and blood.” Two weeks after being admitted to the Mayo Clinic, the tumors in Thompson’s body had doubled in size. “There is nothing on file, nothing to compare it to,” Helder said. “The doctors can’t get over it. They have never seen a case like this before.”
For the past seven months Thompson has had to undergo numerous spinal taps, blood transfusions, and surgeries. On Dec. 16, Thompson had a bone marrow transplant to hopefully rid his body of the cancer. “It has been very difficult since the transplant,” Helder said. “His blood counts had dropped to 0, and he is trying to recover.” Visitors have been sparse since he is very weak and any little germ can make him very ill. “When you have a bone marrow transplant it is considered your new birthday,” Helder said. “Everything is 0 plus however many days it has been since the procedure.”
While Thompson’s whole life may have come to a stop, everything around him hasn’t. Bills, taxes, and banking issues haven’t stopped. Helder has been taking care of all Thompson’s personal matters for him. “I’m trying to get all his stuff together,” she said. “I want him to have a life to come home to.” Helder said “Thompson has only been home twice since May and she has maybe been home three or four times.” “Even if we were to leave, we have to be at the Mayo Clinic 4-5 times a week for testing,” she said. “So we can’t really go anywhere.” “The past seven months have been a whirlwind,” Helder said. “It’s like one day you are getting up and going to work, then the next day you are over in Jacksonville and you are not going home.”

Christian Franek's voice cracks as he begins to describe his friend. "He just gives and gives. He's just 28 years old and he doesn't have any children ... " Franek, the co-founder and president of US98 Soccer, suddenly struggles up from the picnic table outside Jam Bone restaurant and wanders several feet away, his hands held to his face to stem the flow of tears. Seated around the picnic table are about two dozen others - toddlers and teenagers, young adults and mothers and fathers - who have come together to support their friend and coach, Jason Thompson. After struggling through more than two months of pain, the 28-year-old was diagnosed with cancer June 2.

To read and follow Jason’s story, or to make a donation in his name you can go to www.kickingitforjason.com