By Emily Miller

REXBURG — The Rexburg and Sugar City communities will come together Saturday, Sept. 17, to “Run for a Reason,” and raise money for a local family who could use the help.

It will also be the kickoff for Experience Rexburg, an annual event that welcomes students and new community members to Rexburg.

Each year, AvantGuard Monitoring chooses a local family and raises money to help with the costs of whatever challenge the family is facing. This year, the company chose the Jardine family from Sugar City.

According to her mother, Klaire’s favorite person is her dad, Janson Jardine. Photo courtesy of the Jardine Family.

Klaire Jardine is 9 months old and the youngest of Janson and Brooke Jardine’s five children. Janson is an admired teacher and track coach in Sugar-Salem School District 322. Klaire was born with PHACE, a condition that affects multiple systems in the body and causes large hemangiomas on the face. According to PHACE Syndrome Community’s website, the disorder can also affect the brain, heart, eyes, skin and/or arteries.

Brooke says there were no signs of problems before Klaire was born except for a slight incongruence in the size of her ears, which they believed to be benign. But about 72 hours after Klaire was born, the Jardines noticed what they thought was a small birthmark developing on her face.

“By about two weeks, it was growing into her neck,” Brooke says. “It was this huge lump. It was scary.”

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