Jaxston's Journey

Cole and Leah Edwards were high school sweethearts, but life took them in separate ways.  A decade later they found each other and fell in love again.  They were married in June of 2017.  They have worked hard at blending their beautiful family together into one.  Their children are Brock (13), Cianne(10), and Tyler(9).  As their family blended and grew, they dreamed of having a child together.  In January 2019, the celebration began!  They were blessed to discover they were pregnant and excited to share the news of the upcoming birth of their baby.

With much anticipation, the month of April came - they would soon find out the gender of their sweet baby.  During this sonogram, Leah and Cole learned that they would be having a baby boy, but complications were also observed.  Jaxston Cole Edwards was making his appearance to the world but because of the complications, he would need lots of love, prayer, and help. 

Jaxston has Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS) and Trisomy 8 Mosaicism (T8M) syndrome.  HLHS  is a birth defect that affects normal blood flow through the heart as the baby develops.  In Jaxston's case, he didn't develop the left ventricle of his heart.  This defect of the heart will require immediate surgery after birth, a surgery at six months old, and then a third surgery near the age of four years old.  Jaxston will spend, at a minimum, the first 6 months of his life in the cardiac NICU unit at Texas Children's Medical Hospital.  

T8M is a rare condition (1 in 25,000 to 50,000 babies) that affects the baby's chromosomes at conception and as the cells begin to divide. In Jaxston's case, he has an extra chromosome on his 8th chromosome. The effects of T8M will not be known fully until after he is born.  The symptoms can vary with every case ranging from undetectable to severe.  Jaxston will undergo many tests immediately after birth to assess the severity of the T8M.  As a result of these complications, Leah has been instructed by the doctors to relocate to Houston, Texas, on August 19th.  This will help her to prepare for birth and Jaxston's surgeries that will begin on the day he is born.  Cole will travel to Houston to be by Leah's side in September to prepare for the birth of Jaxston on 9/9/19.

Another difficult decision Cole and Leah had to make is to leave their youngest son, Tyler, with Cole's sister in Cedar Park during Jaxston's six months medical stay in Houston.  Cole will travel back and forth from Houston to Cedar Park to check on Tyler and to pick him up to go visit his new baby brother and mother from time to time. It is yet to be determined if Cole will need to live with Leah in Houston or live in the Cedar Park area closer to Tyler and Cole's current job.

The Edwards family will need lots of financial help as they prepare for Jaxston's journey in life.  These financial gifts will help offset the daily costs of staying in the hospital, the Ronald McDonald home, food, medical bills, travel, and fuel.  This will be an incredibly stressful journey for the Edwards family, and yet, they are choosing to focus on the blessing that come along the way.  With help from people like you and your friends, we can make a difference and help ease some of the financial difficulties this family will face in the next year.  Would you consider joining us?  Our desire is to help this family financially as well as cheering them on as little Jaxston's journey begins!