Warmth: Blankets say thanks
Erik, Kayla and Jackson “Jax” Giddens have brought warmth, in more ways than one, to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA).
After Jax and his parents, Erik and Kayla, spent the first two months of Jax’s life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Kayla said she felt like the nurses at CHOA became her closest friends.
Then, for his first birthday in April, Kayla felt she needed to do something to pay it forward, which was when she came up with the idea of a blanket drive.
Hoping to get around 25 blankets, she said they ended up being able to donate over 150.
“It’s the family’s way of giving back to the care team that gave their son a fighting chance, while also comforting other families walking similar paths,” Erika Harris, senior public relations coordinator for CHOA, said.
Jax was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia while in the womb. This is a life-threatening condition that pushed his small intestines, large intestines and spleen up into his chest, his mother said.
Upon birth, Jax was immediately placed on a ventilator, and at four days old, he underwent surgery.
“It’s been a long journey,” Kayla said.
At four months old, Jax’s hernia made a comeback, and they found out he suffers a rare type of heart condition called pulmonary vein stenosis. The condition causes the veins that