Teen with rare illness asks for LOTS of birthday cards

MESA, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) — Jacob Priestley isn’t like most teenagers. He can’t go out with his friends or ride his bike down the block.

Instead, the 13-year-old  spends most of his time at home in bed.

“It’s very hard to wake up,” Jacob said. “Sometimes I just lay in bed and keep sleeping.”

The Mesa teenager has mitochondrial disease, a rare life-threatening illness that has weakened every cell in his body.

“Since his disease is terminal, we don’t know how many more birthdays he’s going to have with us,” Jacob’s mother, Britney Priestley, said. “We vowed that we would make every birthday bigger and better than last year.”

Click here to read the rest of Jacob’s story, and find out how you can send him a card.