By Tammy Schneider
Jax Destiny Davenport may be barely five months old, but she is already having an impact on families with sick children living around the province. Born on Feb. 27, 2019, she was diagnosed with supraventricular tachycardia at birth, a condition that causes her heart to beat much faster than it should. At birth her heart rate was 280 beats per minute, and it has reached 320 bpm on several occasions. She wears a heart monitor 24 hours a day and takes medication five times each day to keep her heart rate at a manageable rate. Mother Shawtelle Bellefeuille, who now lives in Guelph, grew up in Kincardine and still has many friends and family here. Bellefeuille and husband Drew Davenport spent the first two months of their daughter’s life at Ronald McDonald House in Hamilton, while Jax was in the McMaster Children’s Hospital NICU. At a time when they felt their world was out of control, Ronald McDonald House provided them with a safe haven to rest, meet with family and do laundry, all for about $11 each day. They found comfort and support by meeting other families with sick children, many who were in much worse condition than their daughter. “You don’t understand the need for it until you see it and you live it,” said Bellefeuille. Now that Jax is home and her condition is stabilized, Bellefeuille and Davenport want to support their “home away from home” in their daughter’s name. Their intention is to raise $10,000 through events and a GoFundMe page and donate it to Ronald McDonald House, so that other families have a place to stay as they live through their own crisis. The GoFundMe page raised $3,000, and the first event, hosted in Blue Mountain, raised $2,000. When old friends Alana Rozon and Cassandra Gauthier, from Bar Down in Kincardine, heard about the event in Blue Mountain, they contacted Bellefeuille and Davenport to see how they could help. “This is a good way to raise awareness about what exactly Ronald McDonald House does,” said Gauthier. “It was a way for us to help her reach her (fundraising) goal.” That conversation led to the organizing of a fundraising event, to be held at Bar Down on Queen Street, on July 27, from noon to 4 p.m. The all-ages event will be held upstairs and will offer a special happy meal menu, with $1 from each meal purchased donated to their cause. There will also be a silent auction with more than one dozen auction items and Paw Patrol will be onsite for photos with a donation. This event is licensed and drink specials will be available as well. Staff will be donating their time at the event so as not to incur any additional costs. Because Jax has been ill for so much of her short life, many friends and family haven’t had the opportunity to meet her yet. Bellefeuille hopes that everyone will make the time to stop by, donate, and reconnect with old friends. Jax, the guest of honour, will be there as well to greet guests.