ISDD
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Rooted in Resilience
By the time Jaxon turned five, he had already lived through more than most do in a lifetime. But when he bursts into a room, full of energy, light, and questions, you'd never guess the road he traveled to get there. Raised by his uncle Reggie since he was just six months old, Jaxon is a story of resilience, love, and the kind of healing that happens when people step up.
Reggie was 35 when his life changed. His sister, battling addiction, gave birth to Jaxon while in a rehabilitation facility. She tried her best, Reggie says, but eventually relapsed. When child protective services became involved, they gave Reggie a choice. Either he step in or Jaxon would enter the foster care system.
"I looked around the courtroom and no one stood up," Reggie remembers. "No one wanted to take him. That broke me. But I knew I had to be there for him."
With no parenting experience and limited financial resources, Reggie depleted his bank account to afford diapers, baby food, and other necessities in those early days. "I couldn't sleep. I was so scared of doing something wrong," he says. "I had eyeballs on him 24/7."
Reggie, who lives with HIV and receives Social Security disability, had to navigate raising a newborn on $987 a month while paying $1,325 in rent. Denied food stamps and child care assistance multiple times, he felt the walls closing in.
But the most difficult challenge wasn't money. It was the isolation.
"I didn’t have a support system. My mom and I weren't speaking. My other sister thought I wasn’t fit to raise him. Since then, they haven’t reached out. We’re like strangers."
Through it all, Reggie and Jaxon leaned on each other. “He was healing me as much as I was nurturing him,” Reggie says. “We were growing together.”
Then came a moment that nearly unraveled everything. In 2023, a misunderstanding led to Jaxon being removed from Reggie’s care without warning. A concern was raised to child protective services, and for six months, Jaxon was placed in someone else’s care, disrupting the routine they had worked so hard to build.
“It almost destroyed me,” Reggie says. “But it also changed everything. Through this experience I became a different kind of parent. More cautious. I watch who I trust. I document everything. I’m still learning, but I’ll never stop fighting for him.”
Jaxon has been diagnosed with autism and ADHD. He craves consistency, struggles with transitions, and finds comfort in routine. So when he was suddenly removed from Reggie’s care for six months, the disruption was devastating. The routine they had worked so hard to build was upended, and Jaxon had to adjust to a new environment without the stability and familiarity he depends on.
When they were finally reunited, Reggie knew he had to rebuild trust and structure from the ground up. That’s when he found ISDD. And everything began to shift.
At first, he reached out seeking financial help. But what he found was something deeper. A community.
“ISDD has been a lifeline,” Reggie says. “From support groups and groceries to case management and tutoring referrals, they’ve helped us in ways I didn’t know we needed.”
Jaxon now looks forward to ISDD Family Fun Days during the summer and connecting with other kids. He’s starting kindergarten and will be in a program where he can thrive. Reggie, meanwhile, continues to attend support groups, finding strength in shared stories and encouragement from others walking similar paths.
“I wanted to be perfect. But now I just want to be great. Support groups helped me see that.”
Today, Jaxon is a loving, caring, and emotionally in-tune little boy who notices when others are sad and wants to make them feel better. He tells Reggie he’s proud of him. He knows how hard his uncle is fighting to give him a good life.
“My hope for Jaxon is stability, opportunity, and joy,” Reggie says. “And to know that no matter what, I’ll always be here.”
Jaxon may not have had a choice in his beginning, but love chose him. And for Reggie and Jaxon, that love has made all the difference.