Clayton Says Clayton Says
If you could use one word to describe your child, what would it be? Ken Jacques would say “fighter” best defines his 18 year old son, Clayton, who was born in Windsor with complications on February 23, 1998. Clayton stayed in the NICU for 3 weeks before being sent to London Children’s Hospital for his first surgery; this was when Ken, and wife Donna, were welcomed into Ronald McDonald House London.
They were staying at the House after Clayton’s surgery when doctors discovered a serious problem with his kidney – at the time, the family had no idea they would stay at RMH London for more than 200 nights over the next 18 years...
Clayton was put on hemodialysis in an attempt to save his kidney, but his condition continued to worsen and he needed a transplant badly. Looking to the community for support, Ken reached out to family and friends in hopes of finding a donor for his son,
My son’s life was at stake, I was willing to do anything.
In 2001, when Clayton was 3, he had his first kidney transplant. While this surgery was successful, 14 years later he became very ill and was put back on the kidney transplant list by the summer of 2015.
Managing Clayton’s dialysis from home in Windsor, Ken received a call on January 6th, 2016 that there was a kidney for his son’s second transplant. Clayton proved to be a fighter, discharged from the hospital with a new kidney just 1 week after the major surgery. Ken couldn’t return home with Clayton until after a number of follow-up appointments, but in the meantime the House gave them a place to stay while mom worked back in Windsor. Despite living hours away, the Jacques Family has been able to stay close to Clayton’s medical care over the past 18 years at RMH London, making it possible for Ken and Donna to take care of their son, together. But when you ask Clayton he will proudly argue, “No, the House kept us together so I could take care of them!"