In 2006 Jaxon Skews’ parents Aaron and Michelle found him grey and struggling for breath. He was flown to Starship Hospital where a specialist diagnosed him with a rare condition called Chronic Granulomatous Disorder. The disease targets the immune system and leaves the body vulnerable to infections.

At the time Jaxon was only the sixth child in New Zealand to suffer from the condition. Jaxon also had a rare blood condition called McLeod Phenotype, which only affects a handful of people worldwide.

Jaxon underwent years of operations; his first large operation was to remove a large Granuloma in his liver that had started to release toxins into his body. He had surgery that removed half of his liver and his gall balder and resulted in a 3-month stay, mostly in an isolated room, at the hospital.

In June 2007 Starship Hospital managed to source matched donor tissue from the USA, which meant another trip for Jaxon and his family back to Auckland, however 2 months after this traumatic experience the transplant was deemed unsuccessful.

In January 2008 Starship Hospital arranged a more aggressive bone marrow transplant, this time with adult bone marrow, in the hope of curing Jaxon’s terrible affliction. During the years of stress, worry and surgery, Aaron and Michelle had to stop work so they could stay with Jaxon in Auckland, of course this put huge financial stress on the family.

In a twist of fate, Michelle was a hairdresser and had a client called Joy Butel. When Joy heard the stories of both Michelle and her husband being unable to work due to being present at Starship in Auckland, she decided that something needed to be done to help this wonderful family.

This is when the real proof of Pay It Forward emerged.

Joy started a fundraising drive to raise funds for Jaxon and his family, and it seemed every item that was required to raise funds would arrive out of ‘thin air’. When Joy asked her employer if she could print tickets for the Garden Party and Movie Evening fundraisers she was organising, suddenly professional tickets arrived… and sold!

Joy was looking for wine and cheese for the Movie Evening and cheese was delivered - in fact enough cheese to serve on a 747 flight, all individually wrapped! Another wonderful individual, Ken Weaver, provided the wine.

The Garden Party was a great day thanks to the generosity of Gethsemane Garden, whom donated their beautiful property and provided afternoon tea.

The acts of kindness and generosity didn’t stop there! Pionair provided a plane, champagne and nibbles for a scenic flight to Mount Cook, Tim from Pioneer Air said, “Fill the plane and we will donate everything!”

Jaxon received bone marrow from a donor in Wellington and is now cured. However, fundraising for Jaxon changed his life and was also a life changing experience for Ms Butel, who has now made it a life mission to encourage other people to give.

The experience inspired her to create a picture book telling the story of this Christchurch boy’s fight for life and journey to recovery, in the hope the book will inspire other sick children and their families. The random acts of kindness didn’t stop at the end of writing the book either! Richard Ballantyne arranged for the book to be released at a special event at Ballantynes Department Store in central Christchurch.

$5.00 from every book sold will be donated to Ronald McDonald House, where Jaxon’s parents spent so much time when he was sick.

“This has been an incredible journey for me. It has shown me that by giving you also receive. My life will never be the same because of Jaxon. If this book inspires a sick child to have hope or encourages someone to help a friend in need then it has done its job. I hope you enjoy Jaxon’s story.” - JOY BUTEL

Website editor - Rachael de Hek