J.J. enjoys listening to Snap Judgement. Recently, he laid in his bunk and listened to this heart breaking story.
When
Joe and Yvonne Jackson found out their youngest son, Cole, was on the
brink of life or death, they never imagined what they'd have to give up
in order to save his life.
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GLYNN WASHINGTON, HOST:
Now for our first story, SNAP JUDGEMENT's Nancy Lopez is going to kick things off in the Republic of Texas.
NANCY LOPEZ, BYLINE: When Yvonne Jackson gave birth to her youngest son, Cole, everything seemed to be normal.
YVONNE
JACKSON: A friend of mine had came over to see the new baby. We noticed
that Cole had some little red dots all over him - it kind of almost
looked like heat rash. I said, I think I should probably call the
pediatrician. For some reason something's telling me I need to get him
in there.
LOPEZ: Yvonne took Cole to the hospital where they
ran a few blood tests. She was told to return in a couple of hours, so
she dropped off her two older kids and her mother-in-law's.
Y.
JACKSON: And as I pulled back into the parking lot, I saw Laura, the
nurse practitioner, standing at the door. And I thought it was to unlock
it and as soon as I walked up, Dr. Horner said - I mean, it was like,
simultaneously - she said, Yvonne, I'm going to take you to the office,
and Dr. Horner grabbed Cole and just ran down this long hallway. I was
little in shock because at that time, I just thought - I mean, I thought
it was a heat rash - you know, I just thought it was going to be
something simple. There was never a thought in my head that Cole had
this horrible disease.
LOPEZ: Yvonne's husband Joe was a truck
driver. She says Joe was out on the road, and she didn't want to give
him the bad news over the phone. So she waited a couple of weeks until
he got back.
Y. JACKSON: I had Cole with me. I said, the baby's sick. He said, well, what do we have to do to get him fixed?
LOPEZ:
It took six months before the doctors were able to give the Jacksons an
answer. Turns out, Cole was born with the rare immunodeficiency disease
known as Wiskott Aldrich syndrome.
Y. JACKSON: I was honestly
relieved at that point thinking hey, we know what this is, we're going
to get this fixed and that's that.
LOPEZ: But the disease is
life-threatening. The immune system is defenseless and even a cold can
be fatal. The doctors told Yvonne and Joe that Cole needed a bone marrow
transplant and he needed one fast. They told him...
Y.
JACKSON: That he would never see his third birthday, which would've been
July. They said that's the only thing that could save him. That without
that, that Cole would die.
LOPEZ: The problem now was money.
The entire procedure cost $250,000, and the Jacksons needed half of that
just to get the baby into the hospital. There other problem - they lost
Cole's health insurance when a monthly fee didn't clear their bank
account. They had no idea how they were going to come up with all that
money. The doctors told them there was another option - they could send
hospice in until the baby passed away.
Y. JACKSON: You don't
tell a parent that you're going to keep their child as comfortable as
possible just because they don't have the money. So you're saying that
if I've got tons of money, my child can live, but if I don't have any
money, my child needs to die? That shouldn't have been - that shouldn't
have even been the question.
LOPEZ: They sold everything but
their house. They sold Joe's second truck, some trailers and tools. They
organized fundraisers, they had bake sales and car washes and rodeos.
Y.
JACKSON: We called our Senators. We called everyone. I mean, we
seriously called everyone that we knew at that time that we thought
might be able to help us.
LOPEZ: But by the two-year deadline
the doctors had given Yvonne and Joe to get Cole in the hospital, they
had only raised $52,000. Then their prayers were answered. When word
spread about their cause, an organization stepped up and matched it. Now
with $100,000 the hospital agreed to go ahead with Cole's operation.
But they still felt way too short. The hospital told them they still had
to pay out the other $150,000.
Y. JACKSON: I would probably
say I panicked a little more than Joe because I was worried that you
know, what would happen if we didn't get the money. And I remember one
night he just said, I'm going to give in, I'm not going to let him die.
And he said, so don't worry. Your worry is to get Cole to the doctor,
make sure the kids are good and safe and take care of them, and I'll
make sure we get the money to get him well. He said this is your worry
and I'll take care of the rest, because it's my job to take care of you
all.
LOPEZ: Joe was on the road 24/7 hauling produce from
Colorado back to Texas. Than hauling cattle to California and back
again. And miraculously enough, he was covering all of the family's
expenses, Cole's ever-increasing medical bills plus their mortgage.
Y.
JACKSON: I think deep down maybe I knew that there was some - too much
money coming in, but I also knew that it was getting the bills paid and
we were able to stay at the hospital with Cole.
LOPEZ: Cole's
transplant failed. As the doctors came up with the different treatment,
the medical bills kept racking up - almost $5,000 a month. Joe kept
assuring Yvonne that he was taking care of it. And somehow he was still
getting everything paid. With time, Cole's health got more stable. He
lived to see his third birthday and then his fourth. Life seemed to be
finally getting a bit easier for the Jacksons. That is, until one
morning.
Y. JACKSON: I was trying to get breakfast - get
lunches packing and get the two kids ready for school and someone came
over a loudspeaker and said, we need everyone in the house to come out
with their hands up. I looked out the door and I said, what the heck is
this? It went through my head that maybe they were at the wrong house.
And so I told April - I said, April get John and Cole and go get on my
bed and don't get off until I come back in the house because you know,
they get a little gun happy or something - I don't want none of you all
to get hurt. So stay in this house no matter what happens. Just stay in
this house. I walked out the door with my arms up like they said.
First
they have like, all these little red dot lasers on you. So I'm holding
my hands up and then this guy just comes running by me - like, grabs me
up like a sack of potatoes and runs me over to the other side of our -
the driveway. He sat me down and this guy said, are you Yvonne Jackson
and I went, yeah. Who's in the house? And I said, my kids are in the
house. So April, Jackson, Cole and John - he said their whole names -
are the only ones in the house? I said, yes sir. I said how did you
know? And I'm like how did you know us? What's going on here? They
really wasn't talking. They were just, you know, like, everybody was
tons of people everywhere - the ATF coming to find out and the DA and
all that were there. And he said, we're looking for your husband. We've
got a warrant for his arrest. I said, for what? And then he starts
telling me, well, he's been, you know, hauling drugs. What? I said, have
you lost your mind? And so I told the guy, listen I'm going in to get
my kids. And he said, no. You go in there and, you know, we'll shoot
you. And I said, well, I guess you're going to have to shoot me because
I'm going to go get the kids. They're scared, I've got to go get my kids
right now. I just took off for the house.
LOPEZ: They didn't
shoot. Yvonne rushed to gather up her kids and try to figure out what to
do next. She was told not to return to the house for the rest of the
day.
Y. JACKSON: I'm just, like, so confused at this point and
scared and don't know what's going on. And so I actually dropped off my
oldest son. I don't know why. I look back now and think I wish I hadn't
done that. But I did drop him at school. And then my daughter says, I'm
not going Mom. I'm staying with you because I'm scared. I said, me too. I
don't know what's going on. Let's go to Nanny's.
LOPEZ: Yvonne spent the day just waiting for night to fall. That's usually when Joe called.
Y.
JACKSON: He called me that night and I said, these people came into the
house that he was like, what? So I told him what happened. He said,
don't worry; I'll take care of it. It's OK. Don't worry about nothing.
It's OK. It's OK. You know, I knew what had happened, what was going on
at that point. He ended up hauling some drugs and they paid him to do
that. And he did it to come up with the money for Cole.
LOPEZ:
For two years, Joe was transporting methamphetamine. He would get a
grand for every pound of meth he carried from California to Texas. A
typical load was up to $11,000 worth of meth. Enough to pay for Cole's
medical expenses. Joe turned himself in. The federal court in Fort Worth
found him guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute
methamphetamine. At trial, the defense presented letters and evidence to
show that the reason Joe did what he did was because it was his last
resort. It was the only way to pay for his son's transplant. But the
judge, notorious for his harsh sentences, didn't bat an eye. He
sentenced Joe to life.
Y. JACKSON: Hi, Joe.
JOE JACKSON: How are you doing?
Y. JACKSON: I'm good how are you?
J. JACKSON: I'm doing all right.
LOPEZ:
Joe has been locked up now for nearly 19 years. He's been moved around a
lot and currently finds himself in a low security federal prison in
Arkansas. He gets to talk on the phone five hours a month - but only in
15 minute increments.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Fifteen minutes, right?
J. JACKSON: Yes ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: OK.
J. JACKSON: But, you know, if you need more time, we'll have to wait 30 minutes and I'll call you back.
LOPEZ:
Joe's days are pretty much on repeat. He talks with Yvonne and the kids
on the phone every week. He works at the prison grocery store, making
75 cents an hour. He gets off at five and that's when he calls me one
Tuesday. Joe tells me that even after all this time, he clearly
remembers what he told the judge when he sentenced him to life.
J.
JACKSON: I said, you know, when that boy right there was dying and we
tried every way in the world asking all of you people for help, every
federal agency there was, you wouldn't help us. And I don't figure
you're going to help me now. And that's exactly what I told the judge in
my statement at sentencing. I done knew what I was fixing to get and it
was over. My only regret was that he couldn't give me a death sentence.
At least if I would've died or they would've put me to death my family
could've got over it and got on with their lives. I hate it that my wife
has sat out there by herself all these years. She works all day long
and comes home to an empty house, you know.
LOPEZ: Joe has missed out on a lot - birthdays and graduations, watching his daughter get married, his grandchildren being born.
Joe, when you get look back is it something you would do again if faced with the same circumstance?
J.
JACKSON: Well, you're asking me if I'd do anything different? I didn't
like what I had to do then and I wouldn't like it if I had to do it now.
I'm telling you what. I'm glad that I had that avenue to get big money
fast other than say, walking in a bank with the gun because I would've
done whatever I had to do. Do you have kids miss Lopez?
LOPEZ: I don't. I don't.
J. JACKSON: You'll understand when you have them. Believe me. It's still a blessing to me to have my kids healthy.
LOPEZ:
Doctors never thought Cole would live past five and now he's 24. He has
high blood pressure and takes a bunch of pills to boost his immune
system. But overall he's pretty healthy. I talked to Cole and he says
that growing up it took him a while to understand why his dad did what
he did. Now that he's an adult he gets it. And actually, he can't help
but live with some guilt about it.
J. JACKSON: I know it weighs
on him. But I don't want Cole to feel guilty about it. It's not Cole's
fault I'm here. I'll tell you, if I'm going to bring a child into this
world then it's my duty to make sure he's got the best chance there is.
And if he's sick like mine was I'm a sorry son-of-a-bitch if I wouldn't
give my life to save his.
WASHINGTON: Thank you, Joe and
Yvonne, for sharing your story. I keep thinking that if my kids were in
trouble I might have a cell right next to Joe. If you're wondering, Joe
may be a candidate for a special presidential pardon given to nonviolent
drug offenders with clean prison records. We wish you the best, Joe. To
learn more about Joe and his family's story check out reporter Malcolm
Garcia's article at geurnicamag.com, we'll have a link as well at
snapjudgment.org. That story was produced by Nancy Lopez with sound
design by Renzo Gorrio.
Now when SNAP JUDGMENT returns, you
don't need shoes to crash a plane. And sometimes nature is not your
friend. When SNAP JUDGMENT'S Desperate Measures Episode continues. Stay
Tuned.
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