It all began 29 years ago.
Kelly was born on January
15, 1984 . She was tiny,
weighing in at 5 lbs 13 oz., very cute with lots of brown hair, and seemed
perfect. The very next day however, the
doctors suspected a problem. Her abdomen
was swollen and hard to the touch. They
transferred her to Cardinal Glennon (Children’s) Hospital for tests. We were frightened and worried for our
precious little baby. Rocky followed the
ambulance down to Cardinal Glennon, while I remained in the hospital for my
recovery.
At Cardinal Glennon she was placed in intensive care and
they began running tests, doing upper and lower gi’s, searching for the
problem. Kelly could not hold anything
down on her stomach; everything would come right back up. After a week of testing, they could not
determine the problem, and decided to do “exploratory” surgery. They found her intestines had several
adhesions, and they were “stuck” to her abdominal wall. They were not sure what caused the adhesions,
but were hopeful it was just a “fluke” and she should be fine. She remained in the hospital for a total of
five weeks for recovery. While in the
hospital, they tested her for a few intestinal diseases, but everything came
back negative. Good News! Hopefully, this is a fluke.
Once at home, however, she did not thrive. She was not gaining weight. At six months old, she weighed in at 6
lbs. When she was six months old, they
repeated the sweat test for Cystic Fibrosis and this time it came back
positive! We now knew the problem, and
could begin treating her. The doctors
put her on a special formula and pancreatic enzymes and she took off. She responded quickly and was well one her
way!!
Through childhood Kelly was fairly healthy. She did her breathing treatments, took her pancreatic
enzymes, and always had a big appetite! We
tried to make her life as normal as possible.
We encouraged her to be active (exercise was very important for her health). She tried soccer, had a trampoline, took
gymnastics, dance classes, cheerleading and pom pom classes. In
grade school her personality really blossomed.
Her 2nd grade teacher nicknamed her Miss Sunshine and it has
stuck with her ever since. In addition
to physical activities, she had the starring role in the school play, playing
Oprah! She was a girl scout, in the school
choir, participated in the talent shows, and loved everything she did. Through
it all, she maintained her rigorous medical routine. To recognize the time and effort her
treatments took, she received an allowance for doing them!
When she entered her teenage years, we saw the disease
beginning to affect her. Her lung
functions were beginning to deteriorate.
However, she was lucky that she only had two hospitalizations during her
teens. Even though her disease was
beginning to take a toll, she was very active in high school. She was Captain of the Cheerleading Squad,
volunteered with several community organizations and was well liked by
everyone. Her teachers loved her; one even
told me she was “perfect”; others said, they wish they had a child just like
her. Her peers elected her to prom
courts and President of the Student Body.
They voted her as, “Most likely to be President of the United States ”!
Once she approached early adulthood / college years, her CF
was definitely worsening. She had to do
IV antibiotics regularly and required numerous hospitalizations. Her positive attitude and drive kept her
strong and active. While away at
college, she served on the Executive Board of her sorority, was elected
Freshman of the Year; was named Miss Sweetheart, was Chairman of Spirituality,
and served on many committees. She
graduated with high honors and received her Bachelors Degree in Biology. After college, she returned to home to attend
UMSL for her master’s degree. By the age of 23 she received her masters in
Social Work. Despite all her
hospitalizations and strict medical regime, she achieved what she had set her
mind to. However, her proudest
accomplishments were yet to come. In
2006 she married her college sweetheart, Nathan, and in 2009 gave birth to a
beautiful little girl named Molly. They
are the center of her world. Kelly is an
unbelievable mother, full of love and kindness.
Now at the age of 29, Kelly has given it everything she’s
got. Her health has declined to the
point where she needs two new lungs. We
know with her positive determination and drive, she will continue to lead a
bright life.
One last insight to who Kelly is . . . Her doctors and
nurses at Cardinal
Glennon Hospital
Kelly has been a champion from the very beginning. She has touched so many lives and hearts with
her positive outlook, zest and spark. Kelly
is truly a blessing to everyone that knows her.
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