Being sick can be difficult for anyone, but for one Lancaster, South Carolina boy having a serious illness hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for life.
Jaxon Ingram, 6, was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in October and has been in and out treatment since. He has lost his hair but not his playfulness -- thanks to thousands of well-wishers sending him letters and cards.
The cards come from the four corners of the Earth including Army installations thanks to a Fort Jackson Soldier.
Sgt. Erik Choquette, Fort Jackson's Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers president, learned about the writing campaign from his girlfriend Taylor (who is from Jaxon's hometown) and passed it on to other BOSS reps who fervently responded flooding Jaxson with correspondence
As a parent Choquette couldn't sit by and not do anything, he said.
It hurts "when you see something happening to kids, but once you become a parent it affects you on a whole other level," said the native Panama City Beach, Florida.
"He has received cards, letters, and packages from Korea, Germany, Alaska, and so many other places across the globe," Choquette said. "When the BOSS letters and packages started coming in Jaxon was so elated he exclaimed that 'the Army, the real Army is sending me their powers to get better.'"
"I'm amazed at the response," Jason Ingram said. "He's already had mail from all 50 states and multiple international cards. Some are from places I haven't heard of and I had to try hard to find them on a map."
Choquette praised the efforts of BOSS reps worldwide to help Jaxon, and called for more people to get involved.
"If you see an opportunity to do something like this, get a team together because it will make a larger impact," he said.
What started out as a Facebook page for relatives to see how Jaxon was doing, soon mushroomed into something far larger with television stations and newspapers blasting the story across the country.
It has generated so much mail it fills their post office box.
"Every day we check the post office box -- he loves getting mail," Jason Ingram said. "Some days the box is filled and we have to go to the desk to get the remainder. We've had to go to the desk a good bit of the time."
Jaxon tries to reply to every letter he gets, but it has been impossible because most of his pen pals keep their identities secret.
"Honestly, the majority (of the letters) had no return address," his father said. "But we do try to reply back to them. A couple have even asked us to keep in touch."
Jaxon and his family are grateful for the outpouring of support.
"Thank you would not be good enough," Jason Ingram said. "We are thankful for everyone's prayers and the support we are getting -- it's helping us get through. I wish I could meet everyone face-to-face to say thank you."
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