Jaxon’s Journey

Written by Dillon Wheatley

My name is Dillon and I’m a husband, dad, Kentucky distillery worker of 15 years, and a congenital heart defect survivor myself. I was born with a VSD and had open heart surgery as a baby. I never imagined that 35 years later I would find myself on the other side of the hospital bed watching my own son fight a battle so similar to mine.

Our son Jaxon was born May 5, 2026 with CHD. At only 6 days old he underwent open heart surgery at Cincinnati Children’s to repair his aortic arch and close an ASD. We spent weeks living between the hospital and Ronald McDonald House. There were some incredible victories but also terrifying setbacks, including breathing issues, a return to the CICU and blood transfusions. There were days where my wife and I were simply taking things one hour at a time.

On June 5, exactly one month after he was born, we finally brought Jaxon home.

Somewhere during that journey I changed too. I had been away from church for nearly 20 years and what our family went through brought me back to my faith. It also made me realize how little we sometimes hear from the dads sitting beside those hospital beds trying to stay strong while being absolutely terrified inside.

I’m not a lifelong author. I’m just Jaxon’s dad. But I decided to put our experience into words and wrote Jaxon’s Journey: A Story of Fear, Faith, Family, and Hope. My hope is that another heart mom or dad finds it during one of the scariest chapters of their life and realizes they are not alone.

A portion of the royalties goes back to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati because they gave our family a home when we needed one most.

Today Jaxon is home, growing, smiling and continuing his journey. I’m incredibly proud to be his dad, and I’ll keep telling our story for as long as it can help another family.

You are never alone.

Jaxon’s Journey:
https://a.co/d/0eoyuRfG