Jackson & Kerry's Experience

Jackson's journey has been a challenging and inspiring one. Born and immediately placed in the NICU due to fluid in his lungs and difficulty breathing, he also required a feeding tube. Kerry, his mother, faced the heart-wrenching experience of Jackson stopping breathing in her arms twice during his stay in the NICU. Once home, Jackson's progress was slow, and he wasn’t meeting developmental milestones like rolling over or crawling. An X-ray revealed he had hip dysplasia, necessitating physical therapy and braces on his legs. Despite these challenges, Jackson courageously skipped crawling and went straight to walking around his first birthday.

Kerry and Jackson’s father sought answers from neurologists, who recommended an MRI to check for a possible stroke in utero. Their search for answers took them to CHOP in Philadelphia, where Jackson underwent extensive genetic testing. During this period, Jackson was diagnosed with low muscle tone and missed several developmental milestones. Awaiting an autism assessment, they finally secured an appointment after two years of waiting.

In January 2022, Kerry faced her own health crisis when her hemoglobin dropped to a dangerously low level of 4, nearly costing her life and forcing her to stop working to heal. Over the past two years, both Kerry and Jackson have been in and out of doctors’ offices and hospitals. Now four years old, Jackson is still undergoing tests with about six specialists trying to determine the cause of his illnesses. His low muscle tone makes eating painful, and he struggles with constipation, leading to frequent accidents. He is thin and frail, enduring pain similar to arthritis.

In June 2024, Kerry had emergency surgery for a kidney infection and sepsis, adding to their financial strain. The family struggles to pay bills and often has to choose between paying for groceries or other essential expenses. Their home needs repairs they cannot afford, and Jackson requires daily medication not covered by insurance. Despite these hardships, Jackson remains a happy boy. The family continues to seek answers and provide the best care possible for him, supported by his father who works almost 75 hours a week. They are doing their best to navigate these challenges and provide Jackson with the care and support he needs. This is why they were chosen to be Hardship Heroes!!

Here's what Hardship Heroes had the pleasure of gifting Jackson and his family:

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• Family tickets to a wonderful day at Kalahari Water Park, Pocono Mountains!

• To make their visit even more memorable, we included a Visa gift card for their food and spending money for the day at the park.

• To help ease the burden of their food shopping struggles, we also provided a Weis gift card!

• All of this was wrapped up in a fun summer gift basket filled with s’mores goodies and our custom Hardship Heroes framed art print!