Jaxon Sykes

Hi, my name is JAXON.  I came into the world with a  BIG BANG on July 4, 2017.  I was born at Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women in Memphis, TN.   It was not long after I arrived that the doctors knew I had some serious medical issues.   I was born prematurely at 31 weeks and was 2 lbs 4 oz.  The genetic team said that I have VACTERL which stand for a variety of birth defects (vertebral, cardiac, trachea-esophageal fistula, limb abnormalities).  Within an hour of my birth I was transported to Lebonhuer Children's Hospital.   A couple days later I had surgery to detach my trachea from my esophagus as well as repair an area of my esophagus.  Shortly after that I had a hernia operation.  Dr. Shyam Sathanadam,  a renown heart surgeon performed a life saving surgery closing a PDA in my heart.  He is the only heart surgeon in the United States who does this type of surgery on small babies like me! How incredibly blessed I am that he was here at Lebonhuer.   I am now 6 months old and  I need to have 3 more surgeries:  A tracheal reconstruction, VSD surgery to repair the hole in my heart and VP shunt surgery because I have hydrocephalus which means I have excessive fluid in the ventricles of my brain.  The doctors told my mom that Cincinnati Children's Hospital was the best place for me to go to have the tracheal reconstruction done because it is their specialty.   I was flown to Cincinnati by a private jet on January 11, 2018.  What an awesome experience!   Now that I have arrived at this new hospital I hope that you will share in my upcoming journey.