Announcing Your 2021 Champion for The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital

We are very excited to introduce you to the 2021 Champion for The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, 6-year-old Jeremiah (J.J.) from Lyman, Maine.

J.J. was born 13 weeks early, spending the first 6 months of his life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Because of his underdeveloped lungs and swollen airway, J.J. requires a tracheostomy tube (trach) and feeding tube to overcome the challenges of his premature birth.

When J.J. was 2-years-old he joined the Capener family. Just like that he had 2 big sisters and 2 big brothers who all adore him. As his mom Kelly explains, “J.J. is writing his own story. His body does not respond to procedures or medications as you would expect, and that has complicated his journey. But his medical team at The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital (BBCH) has done a phenomenal job, working together with many different doctors- and between 3 hospitals- to provide J.J. with the best care possible.”

In 2020, J.J. had multiple surgeries, as his family and care team work towards a long-term goal of stabilizing J.J’s medical condition enough to remove his trach. J.J. loves swimming, and his dream is to take a tropical vacation- with his family and his best friend- and swim underwater for the first time.

J.J. and his family will spend the year serving as ambassadors for BBCH, sharing their story and the impact that a local, world-class children’s hospitals can have on families.

We can’t wait for our BBCH community to get to know the incredible J.J.! Check out this video to learn more about J.J. and his family.