Jacob's mom Tonya recalls the day her twin boys were born, "The day Jordan and Jacob were born was both wonderful and broke my heart at the same time. I was expecting to be bringing home two little boys, and I did, but one was diagnosed with Down syndrome. What that really meant I was not sure."

For Jacob and his family, the next several months included visits with numerous pediatric specialists and the beginning of a long journey to help him with his health issues.

"Despite all of this, he was a great baby and did well with his physical therapist who visited us every other week to show us exercises to help make him strong," said Tonya.

Then the unimaginable happened. At 19 months of age, Jacob was diagnosed with myeloid leukemia.

"One week Jacob had what seemed like a virus," Tonya explained. "He was fussy, wouldn't eat and cried continuously. We also noticed lots of bruising on him."

After a series of tests came a diagnosis of leukemia. "My son's life was on the line and I knew it. It hurt so badly to even think about it, but we had to press on and get treatment."

Jacob is now in remission and everything is looking good. He still has regular visits with his pediatric specialists at Mission Children's Hospital: oncology every three months, endocrinology every four months and cardiology once a year.

"After a very intense six-plus months of being in and out of the hospital, we got to know many wonderful doctors and great nurses," said Tonya. "There were so many times that they really went out of their way to make things more comfortable for us. We like going back there now to visit and say thank you."

99.9 Kiss Country have teamed up with Mission to host the inaugural Together for Kids radiothon for Mission Children's Hospital. It will air Friday, February 20, and Saturday, February 21, broadcasting live from the Asheville Mall.

The radiothon is designed to raise awareness of the importance of Mission Children's Hospital in this area and the vital need for philanthropic support of the services it provides. This two-day event will include compelling patient stories, moving family interviews and onsite activities such as face painting, balloon making and more!

The Together for Kids radiothon will help us share stories like Jacob's and encourage our community to help us help them.