When 5-year-old Axton Orgeron sustained multiple serious injuries to his head and neck after a recent fall from a golf cart, friends of the family stepped up to help.
Alice Hogan, who is a friend of Axton’s mother, Cortney Orgeron, wanted to raise money to offset the Orgeron’s medical expenses in a way that would involve her own three children. She came up with a fundraiser called “Snacks for Axton.”
“There’s been several small pop up lemonade and snack stands in our neighborhood that literally pop up just out of the blue. I always see the neighbors stopping to support them so I thought maybe we can do this and just take it up a notch,” Hogan said. “So I made a flyer, posted, tagged and shared it and it went from there.”
Hogan said she was blown away by the support she received.
“Several people sent money through Venmo and contacted me to drop off snacks. The day of, we still had several people just stop to wish Axton the best and donate money to support,” she said. “I never expected the turn out to be as great as it was. We saw friends, family, made some new friends, prayed with complete strangers and also had a visit from Axton and his family.
“It really was amazing to see how this community came together to support the Orgerons!”
With Venmo donations and snack sales, the event raised $3,155.84, all of which will be donated to the Orgeron family.
Hogan met Cortney through playgroups at both Allemands and Mimosa Park Elementary. She was happy to lend a hand to the Orgeron family, since she said Cortney will open her home to anyone.
“When schools are out for holidays, Cortney organizes playgroup at her own home for the children to have time to get together and play,” Hogan said. “It’s really amazing. She plans snacks, gets toys, sometimes a bounce house…the works!”
Axton was injured on April 4 when he and his older sister decided to take a ride on their new golf cart. Courtney had made a trip Walmart to grab a few things for dinner when she received a call that Axton had fallen off the golf cart.
“Axton had realized he forgot his stuffed alligator after leaving initially and they decided to turn back for it. Once he returned home he unbuckled and lifted the armrest to hop off the golf cart in order to get Mr. Alligator,” Cortney said. “After he got back on the golf cart, his 16-year-old sister began leaving the driveway again. It was only after they pulled out of the driveway that they noticed Axton forgot to buckle back up.”
One of Axton’s sister’s friends tried to buckle him up shortly after they left the driveway, but Axton pulled away from her. Since the armrest was not in place, he fell.
“He was not even aware that he fell. He did not attempt to catch himself in the fall because at that point it was already too late,” Cortney said. “He was rushed by ambulance to Ochsner Main Campus to the pediatric ER. It was after multiple CTs and x-rays that we learned the severity of his fall.”
Axton suffered multiple skull fractures in the fall, including two near his right ear as well as another along his sinuses. He also had a hematoma near the fractures by his right ear. Axton was able to return home a few days later, but was sent back to the hospital after a follow up appointment with his pediatrician.
“It was at that appointment he was urged to get to the ER immediately in order to undergo a craniotomy,” Cortney said. “After an additional three days in PICU, Axton was able to return home to recover. He has a long road ahead of him to recovery as he is only 5 years old and doesn’t understand what it actually means to have to recover from such a serious surgery.”
