On Saturday, August 5, three weeks before they hit the field as opponents vying for league and section championships, five football programs from around the East Bay Area will join forces in support of former San Ramon Valley standout Jake Javier.
By now, most people have heard the story of Javier’s injury and subsequent road to recovery. A little over a year ago, he suffered massive trauma to the 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae in the spine after hitting the bottom of a swimming pool, the day prior to his high school graduation. In a moment, the senior student-athlete went from being someone who was headed to play football at Cal Poly, to someone who was dealing with a potentially life-threatening injury.
Jake went through a four-hour surgery to decompress the spinal cord and insert screws and rods to stabilize his neck, but while in the Intensive Care Unit at John Muir, suffered from both his lungs collapsing and needing support from a ventilator. At one point, he needed an emergency tracheotomy.
He spent 15 days at John Muir before being transferred to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where he was able to participate in a clinical trial using embryonic stem cells to repair damaged tissue. In a three-hour surgery, Jake had 10 million embryonic stem cells injected into his spine. Following a 60-day stretch in Santa Clara, he then went to a special rehabilitation clinic in Colorado before returning home in April.
Jake will now attend Cal Poly in the fall, pursuing his dream of studying engineering, but he also has a new interest in stem cell research. Part of his routine on campus will likely require the help of a caregiver in the mornings, when he will need help getting up out of bed and ready for the day ahead. That comes with a significant cost, something which the local football community is hoping to help defray with an upcoming fundraiser.
San Ramon Valley, De La Salle, Freedom, California, and Monte Vista will all come together on August 5 at 5 pm, at the San Ramon Valley football field, to compete in various games and raise money for Jake’s cause. The fundraiser is the brainchild of former De La Salle coach Bob Ladouceur, a 1972 graduate of San Ramon Valley, and the Spartans’ head coach from 1979-2012.
“When Jake’s injury happened, it hit close to home, a promising student-athlete whose life had been dramatically altered,” Ladouceur said. “And I think his response to everything has been even more powerful.”
His response has been to charge forward with life, never complaining, and even making his way down to the San Ramon Valley football field a minimum of three mornings per week during this summer, helping coach the freshmen line from his wheelchair.
“You would never think from talking to Jake that anything had happened,” said San Ramon Valley coach Aaron Becker. “He has a humble nature, and would never want any pity from anyone.”
The buy-in to the fundraiser from the San Ramon Valley program is, of course, a natural one. Not only was Jake an outstanding student-athlete for the Wolves, but his younger brother Jason will be a varsity running back this coming fall, in his junior season, and his dad James has spent over 10 years on the football staff, aside from his full-time job as a Hayward police officer. James currently serves as the offensive coordinator for the junior varsity program.
“It’s special anytime a group of coaches can put their heads together to help someone from our community,” Becker said. “It is also special to teach the lesson of how quickly life can change, and how to battle back from adversity.”
Freedom is the only school outside the East Bay Athletic League participating in the fundraiser, but the Falcons have strong football-family ties to the Javier family. Longtime Freedom assistant coach Ryan Seto was a teammate and roommate of James, at Saint Mary’s College, where Falcons head coach Kevin Hartwig and California head coach Eric Billeci also played in college. Like James, Seto also went into law enforcement. The bonds still run deep, and the opportunity for the Freedom program to get involved was not taken lightly.
“Football is more than X’s and O’s. It’s life skills, a great way for us to teach the role model aspect of it, and to show what we can do beyond the field,” commented Hartwig. “This is a great way for our kids to learn the power of football, and to make people understand how it can bring everyone together. We’re all brothers.”
And California might be a big rival of San Ramon’s once the season starts – they play on September 22 – but the Grizzlies were also eager to come to the aid of the Javier family and the Wolves’ football community.
“I thought this would be a great opportunity for my players to help out a fellow community member,” Billeci commented. “This will be a humbling event that will help raise money and awareness. I am fortunate my team can be involved with such an event.”
As for Jake himself, he continues to be overwhelmed and impressed by the outpouring of support from his local community, and now his football community.
“I’m just extremely grateful for the people in these communities who still want to support me, over a year later,” Jake said. “Coach Lad came out of nowhere with his idea to do something for me, so I’m just really grateful for that support and generosity.”
Even prior to the fundraiser on August 5, though, people can donate and start to make progress towards the stated goal of $100,000. Steve Jacoby from eTeamSponsor has set up a donation site with all proceeds going to the Javi Strong Foundation. Any people who are interested in contributing can click here.
Jake, meanwhile, continues to progress slowly with limb movement from the chest up. He has a firm grasp on his reality in terms of movement, but is also determined to make the most of the chance he has been given.
“Most patients regain their majority of movement in the first six months to a year, so I’m just really focused on becoming more functional with the movement I have regained,” Jake stated.
With the progress he has already made, from being the fifth person in medical history to receive that injection of stem cells, to the feeling and function he has fought to regain, Jake Javier is already a source of inspiration. Now the community gets another opportunity to show their support for that inspiration.
