A Whitecourt family is thankful, after hockey equipment company Bauer created a modified glove, made to fit the right hand of a little boy whose right arm is partially paralyzed.

Jaxon Crossland, 7, loves hockey – but his equipment needs are a little different than those of his teammates.

Complications during his delivery saw Jaxon get stuck, and it forced doctors to perform a maneuver that ended up saving his life, but also tore some nerves connected to his spine and neck, and left his right arm paralyzed.

“He only has 35 percent use of his arm,” Jaxon’s mom Stacy Crossland said, she said Jaxon only has about 10 percent use of his hand.

The Crossland family approached Bauer after trying to modify a hockey glove themselves with no luck.

“It didn’t really work, it didn’t stay on, it fell off all the time,” Stacy said. “He was frustrated.”

The family sent an e-mail to the company explaining the situation, and asking for help – about a month later they heard back.

“They just asked for my address, said it was ready, and they’d ship it out,” Stacy said.

“I was just shocked; I had no idea they were going to do that.”

The family received a glove custom fit for Jaxon’s right hand, with some modifications to fit his needs.

“There’s a [Velcro strap], and tightens it up, there’s a tie at the top that we can tight it tighter and keep it on his wrist, and they took the thumb off,” Stacy said.

Jaxon, a novice player, is thrilled with his new glove and says it helps his game.

“My new glove is super good, it works all the time, and it’s not a piece of crap!” Jaxon said.

The difference the new glove makes is clear to Jaxon’s coach.

“It was hard for him to get adjusted and pick his stick up off the ice and he seems to be doing better,” Coach Mike Miller said. “He’s really happy and eager now.”

Jaxon’s mom said she’s grateful for the company’s actions, especially since they modified and sent the gloves to the family free of charge.

“They haven’t charged us anything, and they really have just done everything out of the goodness of their hearts,” Stacy said. “It’s been really amazing.”

Bauer sent a statement to CTV News:

“When we heard Jax’s story we wanted to help however we could. We believe everyone should have the chance to get out on the ice and see how much fun hockey can be. Our product development team in Quebec is proud to have played a small role by making him custom Bauer gloves and helping him have a better hockey experience.”

To top it all off, Bauer not only sent the family a pair of gloves for Jaxon to use now, but another pair for him once he grows out of the current set.

“They’ve never met us, they’ve never seen Jaxon struggle on the ice, they’ve never seen me sitting in the bleachers with tears in my eyes,” Stacy said.

“We’re very thankful.”

With files from Veronica Jubinville