Jacob was born on December 27, 2001. He was sent home from the hospital with a clean bill of health. At the age of four months, Jacob was diagnosed with SMA, Type 1. He was never able to roll over, sit up or crawl. By the age of six months, he had lost the ability to swallow. On October 1, 2002, Jacob's respiratory muscles had grown too weak to sustain him, and he died. He was nine months and four days old. We miss him every minute of each day.

Sadly, Jacob's story is just ONE of many. We had never heard of SMA, but now we have pledged our lives to fighting this horrific disease. We have chosen to do this to honor our son's memory.

The Jacob Isaac Rappoport Foundation invests money in research to find a cure for SMA by sending most of the money raised to Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (FSMA) an international SMA organization. To date, we have contributed over $700,000 to research through FSMA. This funding has provided money for basic research and drug discovery programs; enabled FSMA to send care packages of appropriate toys to EVERY newly diagnosed Type 1 baby; and funded the Newly Diagnosed Scholarship Program at the FSMA conference. We also co-host luncheons for Type 1 families at FSMA conferences, and have provided countless hours of emotional support to families nationwide.

Thank you for making our foundation an integral part of the progress toward finding a cure! we owe our success to our supporters and we are so grateful!

We are always amazed at how our Jacob, whose life was so brief, continues to touch so many people. We are making a difference and we know that Jacob must be proud!