TAVARES, Fla. (AP) — A Florida
couple say presents have piled up for their year-old son, whose
Christmas card with Santa captivated readers nationwide.
Jaxon Buell
first had a small following of family and well-wishers on the Facebook
page his parents set up shortly after he was born Aug. 27, 2014, with a
rare condition that prevented much of his brain from forming and left
half his skull flat.
Tens of
thousands of people have liked the "Jaxon Strong" page now, after the
baby made national news while being treated at a Boston hospital.
"Now
if we go two days without posting something we get messages, 'Where's
my blue-eyed angel?' or 'Is he OK?'" his mother, Brittany Buell, told
the Orlando Sentinel (http://bit.ly/1PnHlXS). "It's amazing and surreal
the connection people have with Jaxon. He has followers on every
continent besides Antarctica."
A Christmas card showing Jaxon
leaning into Santa's ear garnered more gifts and donations for the boy
and his parents. Six or seven presents have been arriving daily at the
family's Tavares home, the boy's mother said.
"We
feel so humbled with the amount of support and love Jaxon has received
from his followers online, but even greater has been how his story has
been able to help others going through similar situations," said Brandon
Buell, Jaxon's father. "His story is going to benefit the medical world
and help benefit other families that will walk in a similar path as us
in the future."
Jaxon was born with
microhydranencephaly and doctors initially said he wouldn't develop
motor skills such as smiling, speaking or playing with toys. Over a year
later, Jaxon can smile, roll over, say "momma" and "dadda," and he
tries to crawl. However, he also has a feeding tube and medications he
needs four times a day.
More
than $162,000 has been donated to the family. The Buells say they're
giving the cash to hospitals researching similar conditions and various
medical facilities that have helped them.
"The
vast majority of children who have had microhydranencephaly either were
aborted or died shortly after birth, so there isn't a lot of similar
cases to compare Jaxon to," said Dr. Carl Barr with Florida Child
Neurology in Orlando, one of the doctors treating Jaxon. "He's
definitely writing his own book. We're all just along for the ride."