Fifteen years ago, the doctors told Stacy and Tyler that their prematurely born son was not going to make it. Stacy and Tyler had other ideas. They knew that Kayne, which is Gaelic for “little battler,” would put up a fight.
In 2008, when Stacy was in her 28th week of pregnancy, she was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome and sent for an emergency caesarian section. Kayne was born weighing barely 2 pounds.
For his first 8 months, Kayne lived in the hospital hooked up to a ventilator. Doctors did not expect him to make it, so Stacy and Tyler decided to bring him home. Kayne was released on palliative care on May 5, 2009 with ProResp assigned to help keep him comfortable for as long as possible.
“I was 24. It was hard to imagine past the reality of what we were living. I just knew I had this little miracle, and I was determined to treat him like any healthy newborn, with the smiles and happiness that all babies deserve,” Stacy told us.
At first, ProResp visited every day. “They were there to support us with everything. They came on our first walk, were there to help us wean him off the ventilator and to walk us through his first tracheostomy tube change. You don’t think you are going to have baby milestones like the ones we had with Kayne and ProResp, but as a team we made sure he had the best quality of life possible,” Stacy recalled.
By September 2010, Kayne was off the ventilator and by January 2011, his tracheostomy tube was removed. He still got sick more often than most kids and had to go back into hospital a couple times, but against all odds, Kayne was pulling through.
Today, Kayne is a 16-year-old kid with hobbies and interests that include playing the guitar. Recently, he bought a matte black Johnny Cash style guitar that he is absolutely thrilled with.
“ProResp essentially gave us life,” Stacy said. “When Kayne came home he was not supposed to make it. We are so thankful for all the things they’ve done. He is who he is because of the community of people who got him here.”
Stories like these are the reason we became Respiratory Therapists. Thank you, Stacy, Tyler and Kayne, for sharing your incredibly moving experience; we are so thankful that Kayne now tells his story.