Jake Patton takes nine or 10 pills before he eats lunch.

If it's a particularly fatty or protein-rich meal, he must take 15.

Still, he runs.

For dinner, he swallows another 13 pills before he can eat.

Still, he runs.

To make sure the mucus in his lungs remains loose, he wears a specially designed vest for 30 minutes, twice a day.

Still, he runs.

The Moniteau senior's liver is showing signs of cirrhosis. His pancreas is clogged.

Still, he runs.

Jake Patton has cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that causes severe damage to the lungs, digestive system and other organs in the body.

Cystic fibrosis affects the cells that produce mucus, sweat and digestive juices.

These secreted fluids are normally thin and slippery. But in people with cystic fibrosis, a defective gene causes the secretions to become sticky and thick. Instead of acting as a lubricant, the secretions plug up tubes, ducts and passageways, especially in the lungs and pancreas.

Still, he runs.

A senior on the Moniteau track and field and cross country teams, Patton doesn't let his disease limit him.

His older brother, Jimmy, also has cystic fibrosis.

“My mom and dad really pushed me and my brother to play sports,” Jake Patton said. “Sports really helps us.”

Patton has excelled on the track.

Last season as a junior, he advanced to the PIAA Track and Field Championships in three events: the 110 hurdles, the 300 hurdles and as a member of the 1,600-meter relay team.

While he didn't fare as well as he hoped in Shippensburg at the state meet, the experience has given him confidence going into this season.

Patton had the county-best time in the 110 hurdles last season at 15.49 seconds. He had the second-fastest time in the 300 hurdles at 40.94.

“As well as he does, sometimes I forget he even has (cystic fibrosis),” said Moniteau coach Pat Rumbaugh. “I've never heard him complain once. He's always first in sprints. He puts a lot of time in. He's one of the hardest workers I've seen.”

When the Patton brothers were coming up to the high school level, their mother, Sherry, wrote the Moniteau coaching staff a letter explaining their condition.

And she had other instructions.

“She wrote, 'Don't take it easy on them because they have this,'” Rumbaugh said.

Jake Patton never uses his disease as an excuse.

The symptoms are always there.

“I pretty much always have a cough,” Patton said. “I get bronchitis — that usually happens when the seasons change. I just run through it. Sitting at home will make it worse. It'll all just settle in my lungs.”

Patton's attitude and attack on his disease have inspired his doctor in Cleveland, where he goes for treatment.

Rumbaugh said Patton has been used as an example to other children and young adults of how to not let the disease limit their lives.

“It's nice to know that,” Patton said. “Doctors are telling people with CF about me. It's nice to know someone is looking up to me.”

Patton said he and his brother offer each other support with their disease.

There are more than 1,000 different kinds of cystic fibrosis. Jake Patton said he is in the middle of the pack when it comes to severity. Jimmy Patton has had a rougher time.

Jimmy was recently in and out of the hospital with a lung infection.

“We can both relate to it,” Jake Patton said. “We have different problems with our CF. Watching my brother go through what he went through with his lung infection makes me aware that could happen to me at any time.”

Still, he runs.

Jake Patton will begin indoor track season next month. His goal is to reach the state meet at the end of indoor season and get back to the state meet at the conclusion of his outdoor season in May.

He also plans on running track in college while studying engineering.

Through it all, he's kept a positive outlook on his life.

And, still, he runs.

“There could be worse things in life,” Patton said. “You just have to keep smiling and go about your day.”