PV grad, Buckeyes help young boy's dream come true

Oct 13, 2008 (Star Beacon - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- ZZFNV | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- In the world of big-time college football and the constant pursuit of excellence, to the outsider it probably seems such programs are cold, machine-like entities that have little time for anything or anyone else.

Were he able, young Jacob Williams of Mansfield and his parents, Christine and Wes Bradley, would tell you that is certainly not the case with Jim Tressel and the Ohio State University football team. Their newfound friends, Sue and Courtney Horn of Gahanna, would second that emotion.

For, on the afternoon of Sept. 20, Tressel and his squad gave the 11-year-old boy the realization of his long-held dream by getting to meet many of the Buckeyes and the coach before their game against Troy. Thanks to the efforts of the OSU coaching staff, Jacob's dream came true.

Friends like Sue Horn, the daughter of Pymatuning Valley athletic director Ross Boggs and his wife, Eleanor, and her family, Jacob was able to actually get onto the field before the game. He was able to meet many of the players and Tressel, obtain autographs and get his picture taken with several of them.

Such a gesture has left an impression on the Bradleys and their son, who was diagnosed with his brain tumor in March 2007 after Jacob started complaining of severe headaches and nausea. Jacob's tumor is now as a Glioblastoma and is located in the thalamic region of his brain.

"We were big Buckeye fans before this," Christine Bradley said. "Now, we'd root for them no matter whether they won or lost."

Sue Horn agrees with that.

"I was very impressed with Coach Tressel and all the players," she said. "We definitely have extra reasons to root for the Buckeyes now."

Courtney Horn, a 17-year-old junior at Lincoln High School, and her family can identify with the issues Jacob and his family having encountere, having been diagnosed with a benign brain tumor and undergoing treatment for the better part of two years. To witness the Buckeyes take the time to grant Jacob's wish was truly meaningful to her.

"It was the best day of my entire life," she said. "I knew Coach Tressel and the team were a bunch of good guys, but I was really impressed with them after that.

"I'm sure that anyone who meets Jacob has their spirits lifted. I hope they won for Jacob."

Making connections

The shared bond of dealing with pediatric brain tumors brought the Bradleys and Horns together. They read about each other through the Web site www.caringbridge.org, which serves as a means of communicating the stories of children afflicted with brain tumors to serve as a support systems for their families and an educational tool for the public in general.

Sue Horn and her husband of 20 years, Verlin, are well aware of the challenges of caring for a child with a brain tumor, even a benign one. When Courtney, the oldest of their three children, was diagnosed with her tumor in December 2006, they and their two younger children -- Emily, 16, a freshman at Lincoln, and Zachary, 13, a seventh grader -- went through all manner of trials and tribulations.

"Courtney had to have three surgeries, four rounds of chemotherapy and 28 rounds of radiation in Boston," Sue said of the struggles they endured even though Courtney's tumor was benign.

The challenges aren't over for the Horns, either, because Courtney's tumor is still considered inoperable. Even though Courtney has had "clean" checkups for more than a year, they have to go back to Boston soon to have more checkups and to make sure that the shunts inserted in her brain to help deal with fluid buildup in the brain are working properly.

Fortunately, Courtney has been able to return to her passion for playing softball. That is something her mother, who played basketball for Ashtabula County Basketball Foundation Hall of Famer Beth Helfer at PV and who also ran track for the Lakers before her graduation in 1981, fully understands.

"Courtney used to be a pitcher, but she was moved to the outfield last year because everybody felt it was safer."

So the Horns could readily identify with the obstacles the Bradleys had to face in dealing with Jacob's even more serious condition. Since his diagnosis, Jacob has already endured six surgeries, 33 batteries of chemotherapy and constant radiation.

"I learned that Christine had to quit her job so she could take care of Jacob," Sue said. "She and Wes have three other children (13-year-old Alexis Williams, 9-year-old Noah Bradley and 7-year-old Lucas Bradley). I met Christine just before Christmas last year to give the kids Christmas presents and other things they might need."

Learning of Jacob's circumstances from her mother, as well as reading his story on the Caring Bridge Web site, made Courtney realize she and Jacob had a special bond.

"I read Jacob's Caring Bridge site and really wanted to meet him," she said. "My mom and I met with them a month ago.

"Jacob is so positive. It's too hard for him to talk anymore, but he can make hand gestures and is always giving you the thumbs up."

Through the Web site and their meetings, the Horns learned that it was Jacob's fondest desire to get to attend an Ohio State game. There had been some prior contact with Tressel, who had learned about Jacob's situation last year.

"Coach Tressel sent Jacob an autographed picture last year at Christmas and had mentioned Jacob on (the coach's) Web site," Christine Bradley said.

Creating a reality

But the Horns had an extra ally in their corner when they found out of Jacob's wish. Sue Horn's cousin, Bob White, is also a Mansfield resident and happened to have a pair of tickets to the OSU game against Troy. The Horns put White in touch with Christine Bradley. He decided to help make Jacob's dream come true. The news couldn't have come at a better time.

"Bob called when we'd just come home from the hospital with bad news," Christine said. "It was kind of good and bad timing. It really lifted our spirits, but we had also been told Jacob might not live until the game."

The Bradleys also got some assistance from within their community.

"My mother works at the Med Center here in Mansfield and she knew a guy that was an old Ohio State player," she said. "He sent an email to Coach Tressel and the people in the football office."

Tressel, in turn, put the situation in the hands of OSU director of football operations Bob Tucker.

"Coach Tucker made all the arrangements," Christine said. "He was great."

As the game drew near, Jacob's spirits seem to be lifted and he gained strength. But it looked like only he and his mother were going to actually be able to gain access to the Buckeyes. That is, until the Horns stepped up.

"(White) had called and offered to take Jacob to the game," Sue Horn said. "Christine called and said somebody with the football office had called and got the field passes for Jacob, but they weren't going to be able to get everybody on the field.

"I told her we had a couple tickets and they could have them so they could get into the game, too. We made arrangements to meet them at the stadium."

It was quite a day for everyone concerned.

"Mom and I went down to the stadium about 9:45 and waited for Jacob and the rest of his family," Courtney said. "We told the guards at the gate there what we were waiting for so we didn't get in trouble and they said they knew all about Jacob.

"They got there about 10:30 and we got a chance to say hi before (Jacob, White and the Bradleys) went in."

Jacob and his entourage were all treated like royalty when the Buckeyes came out for their warmups.

"Coach Tressel came out and talked to Jacob for about five minutes, got right down and talked to him," Christine said. "A lot of the players stopped by and at least said hello.

"(All-American tailback) Beanie (Wells, who sat out the game while still nursing his foot injury) came and talked to Jacob for a while. (All-American linebacker James) Laurinaitis spent a lot of time with him. Even (freshman quarterback Terrelle) Pryor (who was making his first start against Troy) stopped for a minute. And Jacob got all kinds of autographs from the players and coaches. It was way more than anything I thought it would be."

All the while, Bob White was getting plenty of pictures of the day's events, including some of Jacob with Tressel and other players.

Courtney and Sue, who were still outside the gate, got to see everything from a distance.

"We got in the background of one of the pictures looking through the bars," Sue said with a laugh.

The aftermath

His big day at the Horseshoe seemed to lift Jacob. "Jacob probably sleeps about 20 hours a day now," Christine said. "But whenever they're playing, he's able to wake up for the game. He stayed up from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the Troy game."

There is some real evidence their encounter with Jacob may have had a positive impact on the Buckeyes, too. Their winning streak has reached three games since that day, with wins not only against Troy, but a tough road win at Wisconsin and Saturday's victory back in the 'Shoe against Purdue.

"Everybody's been joking that it looks like Jacob is their good-luck charm," Christine said.

Obviously, the hearts of big, strong football players were softened by one desperately ill little boy.

In turn, they earned a whole new legion of fans.

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