Jayden was born in December of 2004—14 weeks before his expected due date in March—and was diagnosed with a Grade III/IV intracranial hemorrhage on the right side of his brain. His prematurity caused numerous medical complications requiring ventilator support, a feeding tube for nutrition, and multiple blood transfusions. After spending 3 months in Levine Children’s Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive and Progressive Care Nurseries, Jayden was finally able to go home for the first time. Doctors told his parents that he would have an increased risk for cerebral palsy and other developmental delays due to his extreme prematurity. Despite early setbacks during his initial hospitalization, Jayden survived and eventually, he began to thrive.
Though he was later diagnosed with Epilepsy at age 8, Jayden (now 11 years-old) doesn’t let anything slow him down. A straight-A student, he excels in reading and math, and even anchors for his school’s in-house news station. From basketball, to Taekwondo, to video games, Jayden is enjoying and living life to the fullest!
This year, Jayden was chosen as Speedway’s “Miracle Child”. He and his mother, Yolanda, traveled to Ohio to enjoy the Speedway Miracle Golf Tournament and Celebration Dinner in recognition of Speedway’s long-standing support of Levine Children’s Hospital and Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals (CMNH). We are grateful to Speedway employees across the nation who’ve collectively raised millions of dollars for CMNH since becoming a national fundraising partner in 1991. To learn more visit: http://childrensmiraclenetworkhospitals.org/Partners/Sponsors/SPEEDWAY.
Since 1991, Speedway has raised over $68 million for CMNH, nationally.