MERIDIAN, Idaho — Jenny Carroll knew something was wrong.
Her cough had lingered for months, and despite multiple tests, doctors could only tell her that she likely had pneumonia, suggesting she return for a follow-up appointment sometime later.
"She was like, 'this is not OK,'" said Carroll's teenage son, Blake Carroll. "She couldn't even make it up the stairs without losing her breath."
The heartbreaking news came one week before Christmas Eve: a biopsy showed that the Meridian woman's colon cancer, which she had beaten after a diagnosis in 2013, had come roaring back, metastasizing to her lungs.
Days later, Jenny learned it was terminal.
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The Stage 4 diagnosis came as a shock to 17-year-old Blake and his mother, who had been told that her cancer was gone.
"They called it 'cancer-free," Blake said. "I don't know why or how it came back, but I guess it did. I don't know. It just came back really hard."
KTVB first featured Jenny's battle with cancer back in 2016, when she defied her diagnosis with a 100-mile run from Boise to Homedale and back again.
"You have to find other outlets to be able to stay positive, and you just have to keep in your mind that you will beat it," she told KTVB then.
Fundraiser for Meridian mom fighting cancer
Blake, a student at Meridian High School, said he is doing his best to grapple with the situation. His grandparents, Jenny's boyfriend, and other family members have all stepped in to help. So have Blake's own friends, one of whom took him in after a minor sickness of his own made it too dangerous to be around his mother, whose immune system is compromised by chemotherapy.
His friends have even come up with a fundraiser for Blake's mother, drawing on one of his own passions.
"They were scheming everything up, and I had no idea about it, but cars are like my favorite thing," he said. "I have a 2002 WRX, I always go downtown, I love driving and working on cars."
A car meet, which will double as a fundraiser for Jenny's treatment, is set for 3:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4 at Highlands Elementary in Boise. Attendees can bring their own vehicles or just check out the cars on display.
Supporters of Jenny and Blake Carroll will be there to collect cash gifts and sell the bright-blue bumper stickers that Creative Wraps in Kuna printed up for free.
"2020 Cruise for Jenny," the stickers read, next to a cancer awareness ribbon. "Cancer can suck it."
Blake said the slogan was a reference to a sign he and his mother had hoisted together during her first go-round of treatment as she battled colon cancer.
After the car meet, he said, participants will head downtown for a cruise in his mother's honor. Although he doesn't know whether his mom will be feeling well enough to attend, he said, he's hoping for a big turnout to show her how much she means to everyone.
"Anyone's welcome, anyone. If you want to show up, you're more than welcome, we'll treat you like family," he said. "You don't even have to donate - just the more people that can go, the better it will be."
A GoFundMe page, set up to collect donations as well, has so far raised more than $5,000. Blake said he is grateful to everyone who has helped his family during his mother's time of need.
"She's an amazing person," he said. "I love her to death. She's all I got."