St Helens’ Braxton Robert battles multiple medical conditions as family grateful for support

Born 10 weeks premature and with multiple lung and heart conditions, East Coast baby Braxton Roberts faces an uncertain future – but things would be far more dire without this charity.

Aaron Roberts and Taynisha Parry with their sons Ryker, 2, and Braxton, 2 months.

The future is uncertain for Aaron Roberts and Taynisha Parry’s son Braxton.

Braxton was born 10 weeks premature with respiratory distress syndrome and patent ductus arterious (PDA), which is a condition that results in a heart murmur.

While Braxton was treated, the St Helens family stayed at the Hobart Ronald McDonald House (RMH).

November 18 is McHappy Day, which raises money for RMHs around the country that provide support for families of seriously ill and injured children.

Ms Parry said when Braxton was born, he only weighed 1.5kgs and was 42cm long.

“He spent the first six weeks of his life on respiratory support as he couldn’t breathe on his own, and his PDA made it hard for him to keep his heart rate and breathing stable,” she said.

“Although he can breathe on his own now his PDA is still small to moderate in size with regular follow up appointments with cardiologists, we are hoping it closes up on it’s own.”

Having been born premature on September 5, Ms Parry said the last 10 weeks had “been a rollercoaster ride for all four of us”.

Ryker, 2, and Braxton Roberts, 2 months.

“At this stage, we’re not too sure on what the future holds for Braxton; with him being so premature, he could be at risk for a range of different conditions, but with his past breathing trouble, his immune system will be less effective than a regular term baby which can be quite scary to think about, especially with a toddler in the household.

“Aaron has taken a lot of time off work to care of our older son Ryker and to support me as much as he can by driving to and from Hobart weekly which is an eight hour trip there and back from our home in St Helens.

“I personally have developed quite severe postpartum depression, which I’ve reached out for professional help with.

Aaron Roberts and Braxton, 2 months.

“In between our many hours at the hospital, we would try to do family activities within the region to try and keep ourselves, but mainly our toddler from going insane, but it never felt easy leaving the hospital without our baby.”

Ms Parry said the RMH had been a huge support during the last couple of months.

“We would’ve been so lost without the RMH and the wonderful workers and volunteers; I would hate to imagine the financial and mental impact we could have experienced without them.

“Not only did they provide us with a room, home cooked meals and everything we could’ve needed for such a long stay they provided us with genuine love and support.

“On the days that Aaron and Ryker couldn’t be with me, the staff at the RMH really went out of their way to check in and made sure I felt as comfortable as I possibly could.

“I’m so grateful for what these people have done for us during what felt like one of the hardest times of our lives.”