Arizona sheriff’s office throws terminally ill boy birthday party

PHOENIX — A terminally ill boy from Mesa, Arizona, now has some more great memories — thanks to the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office.

Jacob Priestly, who turns 15 on Monday, was given a one-of-a-kind birthday party from the sheriff’s office. The teenager was given a tour of the department, went on a trip to the firing range and was sworn in as an honorary PCSO deputy.

“[This day is] something amazing,” Jacob said, as he chowed down on homemade mac-n-cheese in the sheriff’s office lunchroom. “They found my story, and now they’re here, celebrating with me.”

The deputies sang “Happy Birthday” to the teenager and brought food, cupcakes and a birthday cake.

“This is a tough thing for anybody to go through,” said Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb. “[We thought] If we can just give a few minutes of reprieve from the pain and the suffering.”

At 10, Jacob was diagnosed with mitochondrial disease, a terminal condition that causes most of the mitochondria in his cells to die, leaving him easily exhausted with diminished energy. There is no cure for the disease.

“It’s like powering a house on double-A batteries,” said Jacob’s mom, Britney. “He has issues with his brain, his muscles, his kidney, liver, heart. [The party] makes us really happy — especially to know that we’re making memories with him, too.”

Jacob said he is happy that people are doing special things for him, but there is one request he has – aside from gathering 100,000 birthday cards.

“Look up mitochondrial disease, and look at my Facebook page. If you want to go all out, just send us a birthday card.”

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