Hope for Kaylyn

Kaylyn Whitman was 11 years old when she looked up at her mother, Katie, and asked, “Mama, why me?”  Her mother replied, “Kaylyn, I think there are a lot of people who need to believe in the power of prayer and you have given them reason to believe.”

One hot July afternoon in 2009, Kaylyn was visiting her father in Seattle.  While at the pool, she suddenly collapsed, showing symptoms of a heat stroke.  After being taken to a local hospital, Kaylyn was airlifted to Children’s Hospital of Seattle and resuscitated twice because of cardiac arrest.  Kaylyn had always been an energetic and healthy girl, and this was an entirely unexpected turn of events.   On that day, the prayers began, but the outcome was uncertain as her little life was put in the hands of faith.

Kaylyn was placed on a ventilator and ECMO - a heart-lung bypass machine that oxygenates the blood outside of a patient’s body and returns it to the circulatory system.   The extent of the damage to Kaylyn’s heart was unknown and initial recommendations were in favor of a heart transplant.  Kaylyn’s condition began to slowly improve and she was removed from the assistance devices after two weeks.

Over the course of a few weeks, Kaylyn’s condition continued to stabilize and she was released from Seattle and allowed to return home to her mother in Minnesota where she was admitted to the Mayo Clinic.  Doctors at Mayo performed open heart surgery to correct a left ventricular anomaly and repair a small hole created by the ECMO device.  Her surgery was a success and she was released from the Mayo Clinic within a week.  Just three months later, her heart was functioning normally with no medicines and no restrictions!

As Kaylyn’s family walked through this storm, fear and uncertainty were the dominant themes on many days.  In addition to worrying about Kaylyn’s condition and prognosis, Kaylyn’s mom was at times overwhelmed by the physical and financial demands of relocating to Seattle to be with her.  Everyday expenses such as utilities back home in Minnesota, as well as lodging expenses and a car rental while in Seattle presented additional challenges.  The cross-country hospitalization meant additional burdens including airfare expense and lost wages.  EKF was able to help Kaylyn’s family make ends meet during this difficult time so they could remain by Kaylyn’s side and participate in her care and healing.

Kaylyn has been an inspiration to many who know her.  Her mother, Katie, believes that prayer has turned Kaylyn’s experience into a ministry of encouragement as others who hear her story often feel better equipped with courage to face their own physical trials.

Kaylyn has hope for her future.  She has returned to activity and will start figure skating lessons this spring.  She also dreams of opening her own art shop in her hometown of Randall, Minnesota.  She wants to sell her paintings there when she grows up and has already chosen the location of the store.

Last year, Kaylyn’s future was uncertain.  Her mother, father, her sister Joslyn, and baby brother Dalin faced the possibility of a future without her in their lives.  But prayer has turned that fear into hope.