Baby Jaxon was born without parts of his brain as he suffers from anencephaly. He celebrated his first birthday and reached one milestone of his life. He has defied odds and proved doctors wrong.
In 2014, a couple heard devastating news from their doctor. Brandon and Brittany Buell in Massachusetts are having a baby but some parts of his brain are missing. Apparently, their son has anencephaly. The doctors immediately recommended aborting the baby. As devout Christians, the couple refused and went through with the pregnancy.
Daily Mail reports that Jaxon was only given days to live because of his neural-tube defect. As news of his journey became viral, many sent messages to the couple. Some said that they were 'selfish' and should have aborted the child to free him from pain and suffering.
On Saturday, Brandon posted his response, "However, that wasn't the case, and it was our choice, and only our choice. Jaxon was our baby, and we only had one shot to do everything we could for him."
According to 10News, Jaxon's condition is still unclear. There were cases that they lived for just days while others lived until their 30s. Brandon said, "Every doctor we've talked to is fascinated that Jaxon is here today, and they can no longer predict a prognosis."
He added that their baby is developing and learning to say 'mama' and trying to communicate in his own little way. He lives a normal life as an infant. However, in August, he suffered from seizures that made them seek for second opinion.
Jaxon was diagnosed with microhydranencephaly which is a condition characterized by both microcephaly and hydranencephaly. According to the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, symptoms include scalp ridges, severe microcephaly and marked developmental delay. Approximately one in 4,859 in the United States lives with this condition.
The couple was also criticized because of a GoFundMe campaign that earned around $41,000. He said that this page was made to replace his wife's salary to be with their son.
"The longer we can afford to keep Brittany home with Jaxon, the longer he can remain stimulated from that priceless mother-to-son relationship that no one else can give, and is one of the main reasons we believe that Jaxon is still here with us and is doing as well as he is," he said in a report by Independent.
