MENTOR, Ohio — May 21 Update:
A special fundraiser is coming up for a Mentor teen battling cancer. On Monday, The Stadium Grill on Tyler Boulevard in Mentor will host a spaghetti dinner with all proceeds going to help Jack Sawyer and his family. Jack's mother told 3News that unfortunately at his three-month scans, the cancer came back and has spread.
The fundraiser will take place on May 22, from 5-8 p.m. The event costs $10 per person, which includes spaghetti, bread, salad and desserts. There will also be a basket raffle and 50/50 drawing.
Original story:
For nearly a year, 16-year-old Jack Sawyer has bravely battled cancer in the walls of University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital.
In 2022, Sawyer was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma – an aggressive and rare form of bone cancer. 3News' Laura Caso visited him the hospital last October before an extended hospital stay to undergo radiation.
“It’s been rough,” Jack told Laura in October. “I have chemo every week and every day now I have radiation.”
The Sawyer family says their Mentor community helped tremendously in their fight and fast forward to January, Jack won the battle with cancer when he officially rang the bell to signify the end of chemotherapy.
“I got through it with all of these people, my family it’s awesome,” said Jack.
Jack’s parents never left his side through the fight of his life.
“The people on 7th and 8th floors [of the hospital] are amazing, but they saved Jack and we will be forever grateful. They are truly angels on earth,” said Jack’s mother, Dawn.
Nicole Zeck is a nurse practitioner at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. She helped Jack along his journey and was also there when he rang the bell to mark the end of treatment.
“This is why we are on this journey with them,” said Zeck. “To celebrate the big success and move on with their life and put cancer behind them.”
And as he puts cancer behind him, there are so many fun activities in front of Jack – including a day at Top Golf. 3 News joined Jack at the range, thanks to the generosity of Top Golf and its staff.
“I’ve wanted to get out and go places and not think about my blood count or how the medicine is making me feel,” said Jack. “My parents never left my side. I knew they loved me but they were even better over the past nine month and I feel like I got closer to them all of the talking in a sort of way it was a cool experience because I got to connect with my family and other people in a different way.”
“I couldn’t be prouder of him,” said Dawn. “We are the ones who are lucky, we are the ones who are blessed.”
Through his journey, Jack has become a wonderful, teacher, leader and cheerleader which is exactly what he’s doing for the hundreds of other children - inspiring them to tee up a hopeful outlook too.
“Keep going there are going to be a lot of days you don’t want to go through it but just keep going and one day it will all be over.”
Congratulations, Jack!