Discovery of inoperable tumor leads Venice man to make bucket list

VENICE (FOX 13) - Britteny Boyd and Jacob Wagoner have been dating for four-years, but for the last few weeks, 24-year-old Jacob has needed Britteny more than ever.

"I was feeling nauseous and had an awful headache, just one that I would normally take a handful of ibuprofen and just try to sleep it off," said Jacob.

This time, the pounding headache wouldn't stop. So instead of heading to bed, the Venice couple went to the emergency room.

A CT scan and MRI revealed two tumors in Jacob’s brain: One on the cerebellum and another inside the brain stem.

That one is inoperable.

“It was like an out-of-body experience, like of those things you only see on TV, and it was really hard to comprehend that," Jacob said.

He had a cerebral shunt implanted to relieve pressure on his brain and a biopsy was done on one of the tumors.        

The three-weeks since he got this life-changing news has been difficult and dark. 

Britteny wanted to lift Jacob’s spirits so she and her mom started an online fundraiser for Jacob's travel destination bucket list.

"We would love to go all as a big family, spend some time together, get some good quality memories and just see everything," said Britteny.

Family and friends quickly started pitching in and the gesture was exactly what Jacob needed.

"I'm just so thankful for everybody,” he said. “I’ve never thought I was this loved, I don't know why."

The test results aren't back yet, so doctors don't know for sure what type of cancer Jacob has or what his options for treatment are.

While they wade through the unknown, at least Jacob knows he has so much love and support behind him.