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.
On May 21, 2009, Andy and Brandi Mead met during a lunch hour for a routine OB appointment and, very unexpectedly, Sydney Mead was born a few hours later. The events that unfolded after this moment have been everything but ordinary and the Mead family has grown in faith and patience during the past several six months.
Sydney Mead was born in Jackson, Mississippi and spent 110 days in hospitals before arriving at her home for the first time on September 4, 2009. She was transferred after birth to Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where she had open-heart surgery.
Sydney has a condition called Williams Syndrome. It’s a genetic disorder that affects about one in 30,000 newborns and is commonly associated with congenital heart defects. Sydney’s heart condition is known as coarctation of the aorta, which involves a narrowing of the large artery exiting her left ventricle. Part of her aorta was narrowed, making it hard for her heart to pump blood through the artery and on to the rest of the body.
The Erika Kate Foundation would like to remember our friend Ricky Wegener, who passed away on December 14, 2009. Ricky was born on February 16, 1998.
Please continue to think of Ricky’s mom, Trisha, and their family. Our prayers are with all of you.
An article about Ricky was featured in our 2009 year-end newsletter, and can be read by following this link.
2009 has been a memorable year! Significant progress has been made in the continued development of the Erika Kate Foundation. Read more
Ani and Jeremy Karg are the parents of four daughters, Madi – 9, Selah – 6, Veiyah – 1, and Aderah, Veiyah’s twin, who passed away on Sept 10, 2008 before she was born. Veiyah and Aderah were born on Sept 25 2008, Veiyah with serious heart complications. Veiyah is fighting her battle daily, and from the sound of her at home in the background during the interview for this story, she is up for the fight. Over the past year, Veiyah has had several emergencies, and right here, right now, she is doing well.
Veiyah at age 3 weeks, at her first BT shunt surgery
As Ani and Jeremy went through these emergencies, and before Veiyah had her first shunt implanted in her heart, the chief surgeon told them that they needed to be in the present moment each day with their sweet Veiyah, don’t hold her back, let her live her life in her own way, at her own pace. He told them to live in the moment.
Ani and Jeremy have learned the most important thing for them as a family is to “Be Right Here, Right Now.” They don’t spend time contemplating the future – there is not time with their busy household of three children, one who needs constant care. And, they don’t want to think about what the future holds because they know that their lives can change, literally, in a heartbeat. What they do focus on is making sure Veiyah has all the opportunities for improving through surgery and medication. They trust in God, and they trust their doctors to find the best possible answers. They focus on their family in each moment, drawing close together, supported by extended family, friends, Jeremy’s work colleagues, their church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the Erika Kate Foundation. Read more
