There is a great opportunity for Marion Countians to help save the life of a 4-year-old at Good News Brewing on Dec. 4 by participating in a blood drive.
Jaxon “JJ” Shepherd, the son of Patrick and Natasha Shepherd, was recently diagnosed with leukemia and is in need of blood treatments. The blood drive, located at 1226 U.S. 98 from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Jaxon’s aunt, April Shepherd, said Jaxon is very sweet, loving, playful and extremely smart with his whole life in front of him.
“He loves dogs, loves his Spiderman and is the sweetest kid of the whole family,” April said. “He’s JJ. He loves everybody, loves his toys (and) loves to cuddle and snuggle. He is a momma’s boy through and through. He’s just a sweetheart.”
Three weeks before he was diagnosed with leukemia, Jaxon had a runny nose and congested breathing, so his family took him to the doctor. The doctor told them Jaxon had to have his tonsils removed, and he was referred to an ENT. But prior to visiting the ENT, the doctor called to check on Jaxon, heard his breathing and told his mom to take him to the emergency room, where doctors said he was fine.
When he did go to the ENT four days after his initial visit, he was given antibiotics and steroids to treat his symptoms. But Jaxon was unable to hold anything down and was struggling to eat the following week. Ten days following his first visit to the doctor, his family took him to the emergency room in Hattiesburg, where blood work revealed leukemia, leading to his transfer to University Medical Center in Jackson. It was a week before Thanksgiving and 10 days before his fourth birthday.
Because of the rapid progression, Jaxon had to undergo surgery shortly after his transfer to Jackson. Doctors then diagnosed him with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rare disease that progresses quickly.
Jaxon is currently undergoing chemotherapy and has to get platelets every day. However, due to a blood shortage, the hospital is out of Jaxon’s O-negative blood, which is why the family is organizing a blood drive.
April said the family has been trying to make the best of the situation to keep Jaxon’s spirits up by decorating his room and continuing to play games with him, but it hasn’t been easy.
“He doesn’t understand it at all. He gets mad with the wires hooked up to him. It’s hard to explain it to him at that age because he doesn’t understand. We’re just trying to tell him (the doctors) are doing everything they can to make you feel better,” April explained. “The chemo makes him very tired, so he cries a lot that his eyes won’t stay open. He just wants his eyes to stay open, and they keep closing.”
April said she tries to get Jaxon out of bed every day by hiding his superheroes all around the cancer hall, playing hide and seek with him and pulling him around in a wagon when his legs are hurting. She added he loves checking the nurse’s elf on the shelf every morning to see what it did in the nighttime.
“We do everything we can to put a smile on his face,” she said.
The family is also doing a raffle with a ton of great items up for grabs. People can purchase a raffle ticket for $5 by sending the money through Cash App to $lilybugpickle.
There is also a Facebook page (JJ’s Journey) set up to follow Jaxon’s progress.
