Jayden's Story

Please read Jayden's story before watching this video, and then remember to turn your volume up!

P.S. The pictures on this video may appear blurry which is because of the video size required to get the video downloaded quick enough for you to view it without waiting forever! Hopefully you can still see them enough to appreciate the beautiful pictures!

Jayden's mother has given me permission to share his miraculous story.

When Jayden's mom was first pregnant, of course they expected a perfect, healthy baby. When she was about 5 months along, doctors found fluid around his intestines and realized that something might be wrong. Jayden came 6 weeks early, after his mom had been on bed rest for about a week. When he was born, they realized that his intestines were formed on the outside of his body. This condition is called Gastroschiasis, which is the inflammation of the bowels. Typically, babies have 250cm length of bowels, but Jayden had about 30cm. So another name for this is Short Bowel Syndrome. Because of the severity of this condition, Jayden spent the first 5 months of his life in the hospital. He has had multiple surgeries on his bowels. Also, in his 17 months, he has been back to the hospital 22 times.
At the beginning, the doctors told his mom that he would not live to be a year old. But thankfully, he has been doing better than they thought he would be. He is fed his formula through a tube. 16 hours of each day, Jayden has to wear a pack which has a tube that goes directly to his heart to give him all the necessarily amino acids and nutrients that he would normally get through food. Jayden's mom says that this tube is the thing keeping him alive.
When I met Jayden, I recognized right away how happy he is! He has the sweetest smile and personality which would melt anyone's heart. Even though he has lots of health problems, his parents seem to treat him like any normal kid as much as possible. "One thing that's hard for me to do, is to keep him away from the water," said Jayden's mom. "He just loves water!" But because of his tubes, she can only give him sponge baths. He can't go swimming or take normal baths like he would want to, or else he could get really sick if the bacteria goes past his tubes. Because his immune system is so weak, any sickness could mean a couple weeks of hospitalization.
There is a possible transplant for the bowels, but it is very risky, and his parents have decided that they are going to wait. Jayden's mom said, "When we first realized how serious Jayden's situation was, it was really hard on me. I seemed to cry all the time. It's so hard to not think about the 'what if?'s. I have just realized that I have to try and stay positive."
As I observed them, I noticed how attentive Jayden's parents are to him. He is their world. I can see that the love that they have for him is so strong. I really look up to them for their faith and perseverance through this past year and a half. Jayden radiates love to everyone. He is such a special boy and a big blessing in the lives of his parents. His chance to live a full life is unknown, but his parents seem to be cherishing each day. I feel very blessed that I was able to meet sweet Jayden, and capture the beautiful spirit which surrounds this special boy.
I hope you enjoy watching this video of sweet Jayden.