One of the standouts, outside of fair rides and snacks, for the Energy City Ex this weekend will be the rodeo. This year, it'll feature an auction to help the community for the long haul. 

Jaycee Ross is a student at the Estevan Comprehensive School who's set to graduate on June 15th. He's been living with Angelman's syndrome, a rare neuro-genetic disorder. Due to his disability, he wasn't able to participate in the local 4-H club. To celebrate his high school graduation, he, alongside his family, raised a steer last year and is auctioning it during the rodeo. All proceeds will go towards a new MRI machine at St. Joseph's Hospital.

"I just thought it was an opportunity. He's graduating this year, it would have been his last year in 4-H that we could raise this here and then give the money to charity. [There are a] lot of worthy causes out there, but the MRI project just seemed like the best choice for us," shared Jaycee's mom, Carol Ross. 

"He had to have an MRI when he was 18 months old [and] we went to Regina for that at the time. St. Joseph's Hospital has always been his first line of care for all the extra care that he's needed and the wrecks that he's kind of got into. I just thought that that was a really good fit for a charity donation and to celebrate his graduation." 

She noted that traveling to Regina for the MRI was not an easy trip. 

"We went up by ambulance because it was an emergency and he'd actually aspirated, so collapsed a lung at that time associated with the seizure. It was really scary and stressful for sure. But, we came through it with the great care that we got at the time from the EMS and from the doctors and emergency at St. Joseph's and then together with the staff at Regina General."

"He's a really happy guy. Jolly. He loves giving hugs. He loves being part of the action."

Just like the majority of patients who needed MRI services in the past, she recognizes the importance of having access to that kind of care nearby. "It's really important to have as much care close to home as you can because, in our home community, we have the support of family. I don't have to take as much time off work to travel with him if the care is close to home and [the] wait list for people that have issues and need an MRI is really significant in terms of their care and getting them back to healthy."

Ross noted her son has also taken advantage of another machine fundraised by the community. She said that he needed the CT scanner due to an accident that had happened in the past. 

The charity auction will happen during the intermission of the rodeo performances on Friday night, which is scheduled at 6:00 pm.