COLUMBIA STATION, Ohio — A spring day in Northeast Ohio means moving mulch for Mark Zietlow.
For 20 years, Zietlow has committed to his beard. "There's no amount of money that will make me cut my beard off," he says.
However, his wife Sarah is a teacher. One of her former students, Jake Herhuth, is in Columbus battling leukemia. That battle is happening more than 100 miles away from his Columbia Station home.
"He is really sick right now," says Jake's mother Gina Herhuth.
The 15-year-old Jake was diagnosed with AML, a specific type of leukemia, more than a year ago. Gina has been with him for the last seven months in Columbus, where they have been given the best news -- and the worst.
Jake's sister was a perfect match for a bone marrow transplant. But nearly 100 days after the transplant, Jake's doctor gave his family a difficult update.
"There was 80% leukemia in his bone marrow. I never expected that," Gina says. "I mean we heard from the beginning that she's a perfect match."
In the last few days, nearly $3,000 has been raised for the Herhuth family, thanks to Mark Zietlow's commitment to cut off his beard.
"To know that he doesn't know Jake at all and that he said, 'I want to do this for him' and for our family, it's just beyond words," Gina adds.
Donations can be made through Sarah Zietlow's Venmo account linked here.
Please note that if you are not comfortable donating through Venmo, the Zietlow family is also linking Jake’s MealTrain account in the comments on Facebook. They simply ask that you note “For Bearded Mark” in the donation comment so they can track it.
Right now, Jake's family is hoping to get him in remission. But in the meantime, Jake's 16th birthday is on May 1. His mom has asked if everyone could send him a happy birthday message since he'll be in the hospital.
Click here to visit Jake's CaringBridge site to get the latest updates on his progress and to interact.