NIXA, Mo. — Meet Jacob Fogle. Fogle’s a junior at Nixa High School, obsessed with volleyball, a passion that cements himself as a manager for the girls’ volleyball team and a player in a men’s club team. 

However, on October 6, 2023, his life changed dramatically. 

Jacob was involved in a crash on Farm Road 141, just between Nixa and Springfield.

“I called my mom [as I was driving],” Fogle recalls. “I didn’t feel good, and then I had a seizure and I hit a tree.”

His mother says being on the other side of that call was a nightmare. 

“I started to yell to try and get him to respond, and he didn’t,” Dana Fogle said. “I heard him, like, hit three things and then the line went silent.”

The crash itself was a rollover wreck and only Jacob was involved when his Tahoe hit a tree and rested upside down in a front yard.

He was taken to the hospital due to his unconsciousness in the wreck and the seizure that preempted the wreck and that’s when a much more serious diagnosis was revealed. 

“The doctor came in and said, I have bad news. He has a tumor,” Dana said. 

The Fogles then rushed to St. Louis, and then to St. Jude in Memphis to remove a brain tumor that went unnoticed until that crash. 

“They took out a little piece of the skull and took the whole thing out,” Jacob says. 

His grandma, sitting with the family for support, says the tumor was the size of a lemon.

“To be thankful for your child being in a car accident, it sounds like the craziest thing,” Dana said. We never would have known about any of this. I don’t think I can put into words how thankful I am.”

The Fogles have received immense support through a GoFundMe, made by a family friend. 

“I think we live in an incredible community, and we have seen that grow just through the GoFundMe,” Kim Harris said. “[Dana’s] intent was like she just wanted prayers.”

“It’s really appreciated. It’s super, it’s a blessing to have the support that I have and see a lot of people that really care about me,” Jacob said.

“I think just by the grace of God and having us all together and just lots of prayers, having so many people reach out has been amazing,” Dana adds.

Jacob is still on the road to recovery, focusing on getting back to school and volleyball. 

“Just like the fact I didn’t hurt anybody or anyone else is amazing. There’s obviously a bigger plan here than just me,” Jacob says. “People told me that I’ve renewed their faith in Christianity, and they want to look into it more. So it’s just really awesome to see.”

Jacob expects to go back to school in mid-November.

The Fogles expect results on the tumor, specifically to find out if it is malignant or benign soon.