MARCHAND FAMILY TO SEEK MEDICAL TREATMENT IN MEXICO

JADEN MARCHAND SUFFERED SEVERE BRAIN DAMAGE AFTER BEING ELECTROCUTED ON THE JOB LAST JUNE

Jennifer QuesnelleMarchand is willing to do anything to try and get her son healthy again.

Jaden Marchand, 21, is currently in a vegetative state after being electrocuted while laying fibreoptic cable on Concession Road 13 in Tiny Township on June 24 — his fourth day on the job.

He was immediately airlifted to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and stayed in the intensive care unit until December before being transferred to the reactivation care centre at the Toronto hospital.

"It's been a lot of ups and downs," said QuesnelleMarchand. "Jaden went through a lot medically when he was first injured because of the electrocution. He got a lot of infections."

Jaden has been relatively stable over the last three months and is slowly attempting to recover from the anoxic brain injury he suffered 10 months ago, according to his mother.

"He is doing well, she said, adding that Jaden is able to fully track with his eyes, laugh and briefly sit up on his own.

"He is making steps forward every single day which is amazing," said Quesnelle-Marchand.

His family is currently working with the Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) and hoping to receive approval to have

Jaden transferred to a disorder of consciousness (DOC) program at the TIRR Memorial Hermann rehabilitation centre in Houston, Texas.

"The program helps individuals who are in a vegetative state hopefully reemerge and get to a semiconscious state," she said.

After six to eight weeks of treatment in Houston, she's hoping Jaden will be able to undergo treatment at NeuroCytonix Mexico, a research centre based in Monterrey, which offers a program designed to stimulate brain regeneration and restore the structure of the nervous system.

Quesnelle-Marchand heard about the cuttingedge treatment in an online support group for mother's whose children have suffered anoxic brain injuries.

"I know of five families that have gone and had the treatment completed and are seeing some pretty good results from a cognitive and strength perspective," she said.

The centre recently completed clinical trials supervised by the Federal Drug Administration to treat patients suffering from cerebral palsy.

Unfortunately, the treatment is not Health Canada-approved and isn't able to be covered by WSIB. So, for Jaden to participate, the family needs to raise approximately $80,000 to cover the cost of treatment and pay for living expenses while they are in Mexico for a month.

A GoFundMe launched last June following the accident has raised $50,076 as of May 1. According to Quesnelle-Marchand, approximately $40,000 of those funds remain, so the family is already halfway to its goal.

"The outpouring of love and support for Jaden has been so humbling. We have such an amazing community. It has been fantastic," she said.

The Penetanguishene Legion has offered up their hall to the family to host a fundraiser for Jaden, though details have yet to be ironed out.

Local photographer Kristen Wright is holding a 'Joy for Jaden' event on May 27. The photo shoot fundraiser will also benefit the Marchand family.

Donations can be made online at gofundme.com/ f/jaden-marchand-as-hefights-for-his-life