Villagers tackle fund-raiser for little Jaxon
The Hillcrest Villagers' Club has thrown its support behind little Jaxon and are hosting a slew of fund-raising activities to help cover his medical expenses.
BEHIND Jaxon’s big, blue eyes and infectious smile is a 16-month-old child who desperately needs your support.
When she was 27 weeks pregnant, Carmen Bartman was told that her unborn baby boy’s kidney was unusually large. After 10 weeks of monitoring his condition, doctors advised her to undergo a c-section and the Bartman family welcomed their little delight into the world at 3.51kg.
“He was rushed in for a kidney scan and it was confirmed that there was hydronephrosis, meaning there was excess fluid in his kidneys due to a back-up of urine,” said Carmen. Antibiotics were administered to prevent any infection.
At just three weeks old another scan was done and the family received another round of bad news: the dilation had increased and the little fighter needed to see a specialist. A month later he began his first round of invasive testing and more scans. It was during this time that doctors diagnosed him with megaureter (the tube that connects the kidney to the bladder is too large).
It was five times too big and enters into the bladder at the wrong angle, restricting flow and causing numerous infections, meaning he had to spend weeks at a time in hospital. This put immense strain on Jaxon and as a couple they were forced to make the difficult decision of Carmen quitting her job to ensure their child got the medical help he needed.
Having spent more time in hospital in his short life than some adults have, Jaxon went in for his first operation, ureteral reimplantation surgery, at seven months. The operation lasted three hours. Due to his temporary catheter and a normal catheter in his stomach, he fell victim to infection, he was placed in isolation for 21 days.
It was only in January this year that he went for his follow up scan, which showed no change in the hydronephrosis but a grade 5 reflux was picked up, which meant his urine was flowing back into the kidneys. This caused further damage and infection to an already dilated kidney.
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His veins were too weak to be found and he experienced immense pain when nurses needed to administer a drip or draw blood.
“Because of this and the little time his body had to recover between each hospital stay, we decided a port would be fitted from an artery in his heart to his chest, which assisted nurses in drawing blood samples, administering antibiotics and all of his medication,” said Carmen.
To correct the reflux, little Jaxon went in for his second surgery. It was a success but before the Pinetown couple could celebrate, they were given more bad news – there was an obstruction which was causing swelling and further damage to the kidneys and his bladder walls had thickened due to the continuous pressure on the kidney.
As a result his kidneys do not grow as Jaxon ages and with this restricted growth, they will not be able to perform at their full potential.
With 10 long hospital stays in less than 12 months, the family’s medical savings are depleted and their medical aid does not cover Jaxon’s chronic medication.
Lending a helping hand
“They are barely managing to keep their head above water and Jaxon constantly needs tests done and, in due time, a transplant. His parents are unable to pay for tissue sampling due to being drained financially,” said the Hillcrest Villagers’ Ruby Club’s Brian Lewis.
The Villagers’ Rugby Club has been a part of the Upper Highway community since 1970 and each year is blown away by the support it has received and thus been able to grow. On this note, as a way to give back to the community, the Old School Villagers XV and Hillcrest Villagers’ Rugby Club, have launched a campaign to raise money for the Help Jaxon initiative.
“We are aiming to raise R30 000 for the Bartman family. We’re going to be running a rugby day and we have some fantastic fund-raising ideas. We look forward to working with the family to help make a difference in this little man’s life,” said Brian.
How you can contribute
The Hillcrest Villagers’ Rugby Club will host a rugby day on Saturday 8 July, with three games running from 11am to 5pm at Kearsney College. Entrance is R10 per car.
Catch the the exhibnition game between the Villagers Old Boys and Turaco Energy Hillcrest Villagers 3rd XV at 11am, the Hillcrest Villagers 2nd XV will play against the Westville Old Boys at 1.30pm and the Hillcrest Villagers 1st XV will play against Westville Old Boys at 3pm.
There is also an online raffle at R50 a ticket, which will also be for sale on the the day of the rugby festival. The prize is valued at R5 500 and includes a weekend getaway for two at Nyala Guest House in Drummond, an eight-week LIVEFIT challenge voucher and goodies as well as a Toyota Experience, Advanced Driving Skid Pan Experience.
Enter online here: https://store.hillcrestvillagersrugby.com/r50-raffle-for-jaxon-342873.html
Alternatively, you can make a donation via EFT to the Hillcrest Villagers Rugby Club:
Bank: Standard Bank
Branch: Hilllcrest
Branch code: 045726
Cheque account number: 052016463
Reference: Rugby 4 Jaxon
E-mail your proof of payment to danielle@ritzy.co.za.
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