Jaxon Buell, a little boy who was born with a large portion of his brain missing, has died at the age of five.
According to a report by The Today Show, Jaxon was born in central Florida, on August 27, 2014, to Brandon and Brittany Buell. The child was diagnosed with a rare brain condition known as microhydranencephaly, which would leave him disabled and would significantly affect his mental and physical development.
Take a look at this interview with Jaxon's parents:Doctors first discovered the abnormality during Brittany's second ultrasound and believed that the boy's brain stopped growing in-utero. As a result of this, his cerebellum - the area of the brain governing movement, coordination, and balance - had been critically affected.
With his brain just 1/5 the size it was supposed to be, Jaxon was not expected to survive for long. However, despite the odds against him, Jaxon managed to live far longer than expected, and his story inspired many other people.
Sadly, his father recently told The Today Show that Jaxon was admitted to hospice and palliative care after his life support began to fail. He passed away on April 1.
Brandon Buell stated: "He passed away in my arms and surrounded by his parents and family who were loving on him and providing comfort and endless hours of snuggles throughout his final days."
He added: "Ultimately, Jaxon passed away from his body and organs shutting down, as is common with children like him. This had absolutely nothing to do with the COVID-19 virus, but was something we always knew from the beginning would likely happen. We just didn't know when."
In a series of Instagram posts, Brandon wrote a heartwarming tribute to his late son: "I love you so much, Jaxon. I can’t wait to see you again someday in your perfect form, running and laughing in Heaven. Enjoy the head start, son. You earned it by being the most perfect, the sweetest, and the strongest little boy ever."
In another post, he added: "I will never forget his beautiful bright blue eyes and his perfect smile along with all the precious memories we created together. His strength, sweetness, and incredible spirit will live on. Fly high and run far, son. You deserve it all so much!"
Per News4, people around the world ignited the internet trend #JaxonStrong, as donors raised significant funds for Jaxon's medical bills.
According to a post on the official website of The Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, the exact cause of microhydranencephaly is unknown but is thought to be at least partially due to genetic mutations.
In addition to general physical and mental disabilities, it can cause involuntary writhing movements in fingers, hands, toes, and feet of those affected, as well as seizures.
Our thoughts go out to the Buell family at this difficult time.