Copyright Hartford Courant
Despite his short five years of life, Jaxon Podbielski‘s impact is still felt strongly. The Higganum kindergartener died just days falling off a kayak in the Connecticut River on Oct. 26, 2024. It was soon after that his parents, Justin Podbielski and Xochil Rivera, decided he would have wanted to help others. His final gift was saving the lives of four strangers through organ donations. “A couple of weeks before he died, he said he wanted to save the world for all of the animals,” Rivera said. “He always wanted to give back to someone else or something and I was really proud of him for that.” Rivera said her father was the first to mention donating Jaxon’s organs. “I had a very emotional response, and I was very angry with my dad,” Rivera said. “I said, ‘Do not talk to me about donating my child’s organs.’ I was very angry with him. “The next day after I settled down, Justin and I were talking, and we said this is the right thing to do,” Rivera added. “This is what Jaxon would have wanted. I said, “You’re right. This is what Jaxon would have wanted.’ Ironically, weeks before Jaxon said he wanted to save the world and this was his small opportunity to save a couple of people’s lives. So, we agreed to give him that opportunity.” Opinion: My son died tragically. I hope his story changes hearts. Powered by his purpose Since his tragic death, Jaxon’s family started a nonprofit called Jaxon In Action to honor things he loved such as the environment and animals. The mission of the nonprofit is to “carry Jaxon’s spirit forward through action. We are committed to supporting causes that reflect his passion for environmental protection, animal welfare and the safety and compassion of young children as Jaxon would have wanted,” according to the website. “He was a pretty awesome kid,” Rivera said. Jaxon learned about giving back at a young age. Rivera and Podbielski started a diaper drive the year Jaxon was born and the family would go to the store together and buy diapers to donate to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families in Hartford. “It was just the right thing to do. I often equate it to teachers buying school supplies for their students because there is not enough room in the budget. That was true for social workers. If they picked up a kid and he has a huge diaper rash and no diapers for that. There’s no budget for that. Then it comes down to them buying it for the kids,” Rivera said. “This was something that was very important to me and I wanted Jaxon to be involved in it. At 2, he would go with us to Costco and Target to pick up the diapers. I don’t think he fully understood it when it was happening. But this was how Jaxon was raised and not everyone has what he has.” The diaper drive has continued and will expand to Norwalk. Rivera also said her son was also concerned about the environment and would comment if he saw someone litter. “We would always pick it up. Every year for Earth Day we would find a place to clean up. That was Jaxon’s take on things, and he loved animals as well,” Rivera said. “We are going to be doing a trash pickup the day before his birthday next year. These are the little things he cared about and as long as we can get people to show up and do these things in Jaxon’s honor is a huge deal.” Rivera also noted that Jaxon loved food and had an appetite beyond his years. “We would go to Michelin Star restaurants, and he would be the best-behaved kid and would eat anything put in front of him,” Rivera said. “Because of Jaxon’s love of food, we have paid all of the meal assistance students at Burr Elementary School (in Higganum) because that is where he went. We wanted to focus on things that were true to him.” Rivera said the school has also shown interest in assisting in the diaper drive. “I really like the idea of a group of elementary students getting involved and understanding compassion for other people. I think that’s something you observe. If you don’t see people being compassionate, you aren’t going to be as compassionate. Others learning that at a young age is an honor to him,” Rivera said. The gift of life Rivera, 31, a financial planner, said the one-year anniversary of Jaxon’s death has been difficult and she has not reached out or heard from those who have benefited from Jaxon’s organ donations. “I haven’t reached out to any of the people yet but maybe that’s something I will do next year. We’ve been able to do all of these other things for him including the nonprofit and so many things in his honor. I still have not been mentally ready to reach out to the people. When I do, I feel that will be a hard moment, but I will know that it was the right thing to do,” Rivera said. Jaxon’s donation was through the New England Donor Services. Caitlyn Bernabucci, director of community affairs and development for NEDS, met Jaxon’s family at the CT Blue & Green Walk/5K, an NEDS charity walk, in April. “We work with thousands of families each year whose loved ones have made the decision to be an organ and tissue donor. We hold some events for families throughout the years. We were lucky to meet the family at the walk earlier this year and learn about Jaxon. They had a team called Jaxon’s Bad Guys and raised a significant amount of money for the organization and we’ve stayed connected with them since,” Bernabucci said. Bernabucci praised the family and Jaxon’s generosity for his “gift.” She said that pediatric organ donation is “pretty rare, but it’s incredibly impactful in ways it helps others.” “One child can save up to eight lives through organ donation and help dozens of others through tissue donation. While the circumstance is rare, it is helpful to others,” Bernabucci said. “Donation itself as a whole is pretty rare and unique. You need to die in a specific way in order for your organs to be transplanted. Most of the deaths in the U.S. don’t meet that criteria. It’s very important for people to consider being an organ and tissue donor because it’s such a unique and precious gift that we want people to consider that they can help others.” Bernabucci said she was touched by learning about Jaxon’s kindness and compassion. “Even at a young age he wanted to help others,” Bernabucci said. “That’s fostered within their family. His final act here was to give to others, and it was so true to who he was as a little guy. Many donor families are remarkable; in the midst of their grief, they want to help others and that’s just what they allowed their boy to do. … We are deeply grateful to families like Jaxon’s family for looking in the midst of their tremendous grief and still looking to help and heal others. That’s exactly what Jaxon’s family did. They have gone on to create miracles for others.” Jaxon’s family continues to volunteer with New England Donor Services to raise awareness about the life-changing impact of organ donation. “I’ve always looked at the world as, if you are sitting there saying you will take your shirt off your back to help someone else but on your death bed you are not willing to save someone else’s life, that’s contradictory. Jaxon did say he wanted to do something to change the world or save somebody. I thought at that moment to give him that opportunity,” Rivera said. Rivera said she still gets upset about the loss of Jaxon, but she doesn’t want to add to the grief of her 3-year-old daughter Ariela. “There’s never going to be a happy moment in Jaxon’s death, but if there is one thing I can focus on is that there are four people that he saved and that makes it a little easier for me,” she said.
