Joy Adalia
Born with most of his skull and brain missing, baby Jaxon Emmett Buell was not expected to live more than a few days because of his condition. Yet this strong warrior of a child has defied the odds and is now one-year-old.
Within just a few weeks of pregnancy, Jaxon’s parents Brandon and Brittany Buell were told that something was wrong with the unborn baby. They found out the child was a boy at 17 weeks yet they were also told that he could be suffering from Anencephaly or some other serious medical condition like Dandy-walker syndrome and Joubert syndrome.
At the 23 weeks, the couple was given the option to terminate the pregnancy but the devout Christians refused, saying it was not their decision to make. They were told the Brittany could miscarry or the child could be stillborn yet these possibilities did not make them change their minds.
The child was born weighing just 4 lbs on August 27, 2014 via caesarian section at Winnie Palmer Hospital, Florida. He spent the next weeks in the neonatal intensive-care unit. His parents were told not to expect much as he could die very soon and if he did survive, he would never see nor hear, never know when he is hungry, never walk, and never talk.
He was moved to a top U.S. hospital for pediatric neurology, Boston Children’s Hospital, where Jaxon finally received a diagnosis: Microhydranencephaly. This sparked new hope in his parents, especially with the hospital providing new medicine which greatly improved Jaxon’s condition.
Though the child does have multiple health issues and various developmental delays, he managed to survive much longer than the doctors had anticipated. Financial help also came from family and strangers who donated to the GoFundMe page Brandon’s coworkers had set up to help Jaxon.
This miracle baby has gained a nickname which aptly describes him: Jaxon Strong.
