SWEDESBORO, NJ – This weekend, residents from across New Jersey were able to visit one of two tulip drive-through farms and in Swedesboro, the trip meant more for one five-year-old boy than most. Five-year-old Jaxson Butkus and his family aren’t just worried about COVID-19 these days, they are also fighting together against brain cancer and finding ways to celebrate everything they can with young Jaxson during the COVID-19 shutdown.
This week, Jaxson visited Dalton Farms in Swedesboro, NJ, which offers a safe drive-through visual experience for the entire family, according to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a foundation whose mission is to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families, and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer.
“The Butkus family received the news that their son Jaxson relapsed earlier this year, just before COVID-19 became a daily word around the United States. Jaxson, who is 5 years old, had first been diagnosed with a brain tumor called Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT) in 2015,” the foundation said. “Now, facing ATRT for a second time, Jaxson is fighting cancer during a pandemic. His family has been finding moments to celebrate all the love and good that they can. This week, Jaxson and family headed to Dalton Farms, in Swedesboro, NJ, to drive through the tulip fields and celebrate spring. #MakeAlexsLemonade.”
Sites like the Dalton Farm and Holland Ridge Farms in Cream Ridge have been under fire by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, but this message from Alex’s Lemonade Stand prove that drive-through experiences offered by these farms should be viewed as essential. Children, both sick and well have now been stuck indoors for a month in New Jersey and a drive-through experience such as a tulip farm ride offers children a healthy, visually and sensually stimulating experience to combat the doldrums and in some cases, even depression in children.
For Jaxson, it looks like the trip made his day!
Operators at both facilities promised in advance that no visitors would be able to leave their vehicles and purchases would be delivered in a safe manner to their cars.
To learn more about Alex’s Lemonade Stand, please visit their Facebook page, they do some great work!
Dalton Farms was ordered by the State of New Jersey to permanently close after 7pm on Sunday.
https://www.facebook.com/DaltonFarmsNJ/photos/a.597372614093570/825974071233422/?type=1&theater