BEAN STATION — The engineering team at Clayton's Bean Station plant already knew 16-year-old Jake Clark aspired to a career in computer animation.

So when the Rogersville teen and his family showed up for a tour last week, general manager Charlie Hemphill had a little something more hands-on in mind.

By lunchtime, Jake had designed a plan for a modular home, which the staff then named "The Jake." He took home a framed blueprint and the knowledge that Clayton customers might actually order the plan he'd created.

East Tennessee Children's Hospital arranged the visit for Jake, who was diagnosed in 2013 with Langerhans cell histiocytosis, a rare cancer that ate four bone lesions on his skull and damaged his pituitary gland and bones. He'd had nonspecific symptoms for nearly two years before visiting Children's; his primary care doctor had attributed them to seasonal allergies or a possible infection.

But at Children's, "in the first 15 minutes they knew what I had," Jake said. "It was a relief."

Jake underwent two years of chemotherapy, living at Children's as much as at home and missing his seventh- and eighth-grade years of school. The treatments, given through a port in his chest, were brutal, he remembers; at one point, he was practically bedridden for four months, a difficult adjustment for the teen who loved fishing, swimming and gardening. 

At another time, he lost all his hair, and his parents, Julie and Matt Clark, and 18-year-old brother, Josh, shaved their own heads in solidarity.

Now, two years out of treatment but still two years away from remission, Jake is growing his wavy locks to donate to Wigs for Kids. A junior at Cherokee High School in Hawkins, he performs well academically but still has health struggles. The damage to his pituitary gland caused diabetes insipidus, so he has to take medication three times daily to prevent dehydration and seizures, and he has a rare blood disorder that affects clotting, along with hypothyroidism and a growth hormone deficiency.

But he's determined those won't be obstacles to attending his dream college: Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. There he hopes to hone the skills to allow him to one day design the types of video games he enjoys playing, like "Defense of the Ancients" and "Legend of Zelda."

"I've always thought, (dealing with cancer and health issues) is just going to be my life now, and I can't worry about it too much," Jake said. "It's just going to have to happen, no matter what."

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Jake's interest in touring the plant stemmed from watching father Matt, a licensed contractor. He didn't expect to get to try his own hand at design. 

"We knew his interest was in computer animation," Hemphill said of the Bean Station engineering team. "We don't do computer animation here, but the CAD system – drawing, designing, stuff like that – still takes a lot of the same skills."

The team gave Jake a "rectangular box" and several modules for bathrooms, kitchens and the like. His design featured an open floor plan and a wraparound porch, to take advantage of East Tennessee's mountain views, he said.

Then, while Jake and his family – including his maternal grandmother, who was visiting from Michigan – got an inside look at plant operations and homebuilding, the staff surreptitiously printed and framed the blueprint. They presented it to Jake, along with a basket of art supplies and a portfolio for his future work, at the lunch they provided.

Hemphill, who liked the design, said "The Jake" will be available if people want to order it. Most homes built at the plant are customized, he said, but people often use the available plans as a starting point. 

"I didn't know all the kinds of stuff they did here," Jake said. "It was really fun to see it all."

Plant staff wore "Team Jake" shirts. Jake, who said his natural inclination is to be less extroverted, said the support of his small community during his illness was heartening.

He'd tell other young cancer patients that "the feeling of isolation" during treatment "is just a feeling — you're not really isolated, if you just talk to people."

Hemphill said he didn't hesitate to fulfill Children's request for Jake's day at the Bean Station plant.

"We're always looking for opportunities to get out in the community and let them know we care about them, because we know that our salaries come from these folks," Hemphill said. "Anytime we can do things like this, we're just so proud to do it."