Five years ago, a miracle boy named Jaxon Buell was born. And as his parents learned early on in the pregnancy, Jaxon was born with a condition called microhydranencephaly.
According to the Rare and Genetic Diseases Information Center (GARD), microhydranencephaly “is a developmental abnormality that affects the brain. Signs and symptoms may include extreme microcephaly, scalp rugae (a series of ridges), profound developmental delay and severe intellectual disability.”
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In Jaxon’s unique case, he was born without 80-percent of his skull and his brain was a fifth of a normal size. Nonetheless, despite the challenges and the statistic against him, Jaxon defied the odds.
‘Miracle Boy’ Jaxon Buell, Who Was Born Without 80-Percent of His Skull, Has Died at the Age of 5
Jaxon was known in his home state of Florida as a “miracle boy.” And follow an interview with his father, Brandon Buell, News4Jax revealed that Jaxon passed away on April 1.
“Jax passed away very peacefully, comfortable in my arms,” Buell told News4Jax. “He was surrounded by his parents and his family and enjoyed so much love and snuggles in the final moments of his life and journey with us.”
According to News4Jax, Jaxon wasn’t expected to survive more than a few days after he was born. And as a result, Buell and his wife Brittany were encouraged to terminate the pregnancy before his due date. Nonetheless, the couple made the decision to carry Jaxon to term and Brittany delivered him via c-section in August 2015.
“We’re never going to play God,” Buell said. “We always gave him a chance, a fighting chance.” Throughout his five years of life, Jaxon’s parents documented his time with them and the milestones he reached on social media. However, the page they dedicated to Jaxon has since been deleted.
As Buell told Today in a separate interview, his son’s passing had no correlation with COVID-19. “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.”
Jaxon’s health first took a turn for the worse in March, and he entered into hospice care shortly after. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Buell family during this difficult time.