Good Sports: El Diamante High School baseball player beats cancer twice

VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- 17-year-old Jacob Fagundes would rather be on a baseball field than just about anywhere else.

"It's kind of like my comfort place," he said. "It's a place where I feel understood, I feel like I belong."

Before he could even compete for a spot on the El Diamante High School roster, Jacob was fighting for his life.

"Jacob's a warrior," says head coach Andrew Riddle. "He's been through more than any of these boys can even consider or think about."

In the summer of 2020, Jacob was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a rare type of blood cancer.

"Obviously, I took it hard, but my goal the entire time was just to get back on the ball field," Fagundes said.

Jacob was 13 when he went from the diamond to the hospital for cancer treatment.

"I just told myself I'd rather it be me than someone I love," he said.

After half a dozen rounds of chemotherapy, Jacob finally went into remission, but another curveball was thrown his way.

To fight the second time around, doctors told Jacob he would need a bone marrow transplant.

Everyone in Jacob's family got tested, finding his older brother, Joey, to be a perfect match.

"My brother got to save my life, and he's a big reason why I get to come out here every day," Jacob said.

After chemo, radiation, and a bone marrow transplant, Jacob was finally ready to get back on the field.

"Then about two years ago, the doctors told me I would never run again," he said.

The constant treatment mixed with steroids to recover ate away at the bones in his ankles.

"It was heartbreaking -- I went home and started crying because they just told me my passion was taken away and I'd never be able to play it again," he said.

Diagnosed with avascular necrosis, Jacob would get a second opinion at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

There, he would find orthopedic surgeon Dr. Kevin Shea, who just so happened to be a Mt. Whitney graduate.

"Big rolling of the dice when they tried it, and it ended up working out for me," Jacob said.

Dr. Shea performed an experimental surgery, taking Jacob's bone marrow and injecting it back into his ankles, finally giving the first baseman a chance to get back on the field.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to wake up and play this game every day," he said.

For four years, Jacob's passion was stripped away, but his positivity never wavered.

It's a message he hopes others fighting cancer can take to heart.

"I've had so many doctors tell me I can't do things, and I've proven a lot of them wrong, and so just keep pushing, keep working hard," he said.

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