Pediatric patient explains why he wants you to support the OLOL Children’s Hospital

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Jensen LeBlanc may only be 8-years-old, but he already knows what he wants to do when he grows up.

”I want to be a doctor to help kids like Me,” said Jensen. “I can help kids because I can take their sickness away and make them feel better.”

Jensen knows a thing or two about being sick. He’s been in and out of the hospital since he was a baby. He’s battled a variety of issues starting when he was 7-months-old and diagnosed with stridor breathing, a condition that results from an obstructed airway making it hard to breathe.”

Other things kind of slowly progressed,” explained mom, Jenna Leblanc. “We had some eye issues. He was diagnosed with Duane Syndrome which is like lack of a nerve behind his left eye so he’s had several surgeries. Then we found out he had severe acid reflux.”

His mother says she’s lost count of the number of times they’ve been in the emergency room at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital. She says at one point the stridor attacks that left Jensen unable to breath had them in the ER twice a week. They were often triggered the severe acid reflux. He’s also undergone several surgeries and procedures to try and manage the condition and his other medical issues.

Through every diagnosis, treatment, and recovery Leblanc says the people at the Children’s Hospital made what could be a scary experience a positive one.

”It’s kind of crafted and created him into who he is and having this heart of gold and wanting to pay it forward,” said Leblanc. “if it helps one kid in his mind to be less scared, to provide some sort of encouragement or some kind of assistance in some way then he does it.

”That’s why Jensen and his family take every chance they get to support the Children’s Hospital. In fact, Jensen started his own fundraiser at his school and says someday he hopes he can build a hospital just like this one.

”Everybody here took care of me when I was sick and I want everybody, like when I build my hospital, I will treat everybody like they treat me,” said Jensen.

While Jensen waits to build his hospital, you can also support the OLOL Children’s Hospital during the annual Mediation Fundraiser. It’s an annual 12-hour fundraising event on Friday, October 28 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. where you can call in or text to donate. You can also donate anytime here: https://ololchildrens.org/give/fundraising-events/mediathon/

According to the Lake, all money raised goes back into pediatric care at the hospital, ensuring that no child is turned away regardless of their ability to pay.

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