Help Kayleigh Get A Service Dog
Donation protected
We are in the proccess of applying for a service dog for our daughter Kayleigh. Kayleigh has gone through so much in her life in the 4 years that she has been with us, it literally breaks my husband and I's heart knowing that she had no other choice.
Kayleigh was born at 34 weeks and spent 1 1/2 months in the NICU. While she was in there we almost lost her twice. Once was due to a IV line rupturing and filling her lungs with fluid, the other was because her ventilator was pumping Co2 into her system instead of O2. Once those issues were fixed Kayleigh was able to come home right before she turned 2 months old.
At 6 months old, Kayleighs father, Chris and myself packed Kayleigh up in the car and headed down to Deleware so Kayleigh could undergo an open heart surgery. They went into fix 2 holes in her heart and they found 3. They told us they were shocked that she lasted that long without turning blue or having major health issues (like cardiac arrest)
At 11 months old Kayleigh aspirated and went into cardiac arrest. She was life flighted to the hospital where they told us to expect the worst (they gave us 72 hours) once Kayleigh overcome the 72 hours, she would go another day... and another.. then another. She eventually had to have a trach placed so they could remove the breathing tube.But because of her being depleated of oxygen she had brain swelling and herniated, causing some brain injury. they then told us that Kayleigh will be a vegtable the rest of her life and would not be responsive. I was standing beside her one evening and tickled her foot and she moved it away! we were so excited! but then we were told that Kayleigh would not be able to come home due to the fact that we would not apply for a home ventilator. So we had 3 options. 1 Put her in a care home where they could watch her 24 hours a day 7 days a week (not an option for us) 2. take her home on the ventilator, which they told us that we could not do (still not an option because we knew kayleigh would eventually breathe on her own and 3. Unplug the ventilator and let her go because she will have no further quality of life (definatly NOT an option!) So they started to do vent trials (lowering the settings and see how Kayleigh does, to try to wean her off the vent completly) Kayleigh kept failing the trials. The one doctor was looking into sending us to New York state to under go vent training so we could find a vent company and bring kayleigh home. I had asked the doctor to try one more vent trial just for me and he did, Kayleigh came home a week later on just oxygen and within another week was off of oxygen completly :) It was a long 4 months in the PICU but we made it home!
In Feb 2012 Kayleigh went in to have a shunt placed so it would releave the pressure of fluid on her brain. She only stayed in the hospital over night and was able to come home on valentines day :) She then went back in may and had her cleft palate repaired and did amazing! (that one was also a 1 day hospital stay) her next surgery was in may for her first finger seperation surgery. She did amazing and took it like a champ (2 day hospital stay for that one) the night she came home she figured out how to wiggle her hand out of the casts so mommy and daddy had to do an emergency bandage change. Thats when we realized we had a hoodinie on our hands! :) one smart little girl!
Kayleigh then took a break from some surgeries for a while (she didnt mean to but she kept getting sick due to cold/flu seasons) so the cranial reconstruction surgery she was supposed to have at 11 months old kept getting pushed back. she needed this surgery done due to running out of room in her skull due to fused growth plates.
She was scheduled (for the 4th time) to have the cranial surgery in april '12 and ended up being admitted for yet another virus. The drs then decided to go in and fix her diaphram. (When they placed kayleighs feeding button when she was in the NICU they accidently nicked the bottom lung and it slid up. So kayleigh was basically breathing with a full lung on one side and only 3/4 of one on the other) Once that was fixed she was like a new child!
We finally rescheduled the cranio surgery (5th time) for november. Then the night before the surgery recieved a call at 10pm saying that it was cancelled due to seeing something with her heart on her latest echo. So in december we went to get new images of her heart. (and of course they cleared her) So the 6th time is the charm!! kayleigh finally had her cranio surgery feb 3 2014 and was doing great until we ran into some issues with an infection. The dr had to go back in a 3rd time to clean the infection out and now we are just waiting to see if it comes back. If it does they may have to remove the bone they placed for her forehead and place a prosthetic piece in its place. The piece takes about 2 weeks to make so we are looking at possibly a month if not longer hospital stay.
Due to the brain injury, it pretty much restarted Kayleighs body. She looks like a 4 year old but certain things she functions at a 6 or 7 month level other things at a 3-4 month level. She cannot sit, stand, or walk by herself and is not verbal with words (she does however growl) and just this year has finally showed us if she is in pain, likes or does not like something, or is tired. She loves to growl like a bear too! And loves to play with her food when you put it in her mouth (sometimes you wear more than she does!)
My husband and I have decided that its time for us to get some assistance for kayleigh, she gets nursing help now but with her getting older and bigger she is just getting to big to handle, and if we do have her in our hands its difficult to get things if we need them.
A service dog would not only help Kayleigh with her physical and mental needs but it will also help Chris and I as parents. The service dogs are trained to the person. So kayleighs service dog may be able to help her roll from side to side, get her a toy, get a drink out of the fridge for her, shut off her bedroom light, alert us if something is wrong, pull her along in her stroller (that would be a major help when we grocery shop)as she gets older they can help her with balance if she walks, help her into a standing position from a sitting position, help her off of the floor, help her out of bed, ect... and over all just be a life long friend to her. Kayleigh lights up every time the thearapy dogs visit in the hospital and even for a period of time after they leave she is a new kid, she is more active, more awake (looking for where the dog went) and is extreamly vocal which is really nice to hear.
The process of getting a service dog takes close to 2 years if not a little longer. So if we start saving now, we hope to have enough for when its time to pick up Kayleighs furever friend.
Any help is appreciated. Even a penny helps. Chris and I hate asking for help in any way but this is someting we feel like we cant do ourselfs. Let help Kayleigh get a furever pal. Thank you all so much. You have all been a true blessing in our lives whether it has been helping us when kayleigh is in the hospital, or giving donations in kayleighs honor to the kids in the hospital when kayleigh is admitted, or just overall being there for us. Thank you thank you thank you!
With Much Love,
God Bless,
The Guthrie Family
Kayleigh was born at 34 weeks and spent 1 1/2 months in the NICU. While she was in there we almost lost her twice. Once was due to a IV line rupturing and filling her lungs with fluid, the other was because her ventilator was pumping Co2 into her system instead of O2. Once those issues were fixed Kayleigh was able to come home right before she turned 2 months old.
At 6 months old, Kayleighs father, Chris and myself packed Kayleigh up in the car and headed down to Deleware so Kayleigh could undergo an open heart surgery. They went into fix 2 holes in her heart and they found 3. They told us they were shocked that she lasted that long without turning blue or having major health issues (like cardiac arrest)
At 11 months old Kayleigh aspirated and went into cardiac arrest. She was life flighted to the hospital where they told us to expect the worst (they gave us 72 hours) once Kayleigh overcome the 72 hours, she would go another day... and another.. then another. She eventually had to have a trach placed so they could remove the breathing tube.But because of her being depleated of oxygen she had brain swelling and herniated, causing some brain injury. they then told us that Kayleigh will be a vegtable the rest of her life and would not be responsive. I was standing beside her one evening and tickled her foot and she moved it away! we were so excited! but then we were told that Kayleigh would not be able to come home due to the fact that we would not apply for a home ventilator. So we had 3 options. 1 Put her in a care home where they could watch her 24 hours a day 7 days a week (not an option for us) 2. take her home on the ventilator, which they told us that we could not do (still not an option because we knew kayleigh would eventually breathe on her own and 3. Unplug the ventilator and let her go because she will have no further quality of life (definatly NOT an option!) So they started to do vent trials (lowering the settings and see how Kayleigh does, to try to wean her off the vent completly) Kayleigh kept failing the trials. The one doctor was looking into sending us to New York state to under go vent training so we could find a vent company and bring kayleigh home. I had asked the doctor to try one more vent trial just for me and he did, Kayleigh came home a week later on just oxygen and within another week was off of oxygen completly :) It was a long 4 months in the PICU but we made it home!
In Feb 2012 Kayleigh went in to have a shunt placed so it would releave the pressure of fluid on her brain. She only stayed in the hospital over night and was able to come home on valentines day :) She then went back in may and had her cleft palate repaired and did amazing! (that one was also a 1 day hospital stay) her next surgery was in may for her first finger seperation surgery. She did amazing and took it like a champ (2 day hospital stay for that one) the night she came home she figured out how to wiggle her hand out of the casts so mommy and daddy had to do an emergency bandage change. Thats when we realized we had a hoodinie on our hands! :) one smart little girl!
Kayleigh then took a break from some surgeries for a while (she didnt mean to but she kept getting sick due to cold/flu seasons) so the cranial reconstruction surgery she was supposed to have at 11 months old kept getting pushed back. she needed this surgery done due to running out of room in her skull due to fused growth plates.
She was scheduled (for the 4th time) to have the cranial surgery in april '12 and ended up being admitted for yet another virus. The drs then decided to go in and fix her diaphram. (When they placed kayleighs feeding button when she was in the NICU they accidently nicked the bottom lung and it slid up. So kayleigh was basically breathing with a full lung on one side and only 3/4 of one on the other) Once that was fixed she was like a new child!
We finally rescheduled the cranio surgery (5th time) for november. Then the night before the surgery recieved a call at 10pm saying that it was cancelled due to seeing something with her heart on her latest echo. So in december we went to get new images of her heart. (and of course they cleared her) So the 6th time is the charm!! kayleigh finally had her cranio surgery feb 3 2014 and was doing great until we ran into some issues with an infection. The dr had to go back in a 3rd time to clean the infection out and now we are just waiting to see if it comes back. If it does they may have to remove the bone they placed for her forehead and place a prosthetic piece in its place. The piece takes about 2 weeks to make so we are looking at possibly a month if not longer hospital stay.
Due to the brain injury, it pretty much restarted Kayleighs body. She looks like a 4 year old but certain things she functions at a 6 or 7 month level other things at a 3-4 month level. She cannot sit, stand, or walk by herself and is not verbal with words (she does however growl) and just this year has finally showed us if she is in pain, likes or does not like something, or is tired. She loves to growl like a bear too! And loves to play with her food when you put it in her mouth (sometimes you wear more than she does!)
My husband and I have decided that its time for us to get some assistance for kayleigh, she gets nursing help now but with her getting older and bigger she is just getting to big to handle, and if we do have her in our hands its difficult to get things if we need them.
A service dog would not only help Kayleigh with her physical and mental needs but it will also help Chris and I as parents. The service dogs are trained to the person. So kayleighs service dog may be able to help her roll from side to side, get her a toy, get a drink out of the fridge for her, shut off her bedroom light, alert us if something is wrong, pull her along in her stroller (that would be a major help when we grocery shop)as she gets older they can help her with balance if she walks, help her into a standing position from a sitting position, help her off of the floor, help her out of bed, ect... and over all just be a life long friend to her. Kayleigh lights up every time the thearapy dogs visit in the hospital and even for a period of time after they leave she is a new kid, she is more active, more awake (looking for where the dog went) and is extreamly vocal which is really nice to hear.
The process of getting a service dog takes close to 2 years if not a little longer. So if we start saving now, we hope to have enough for when its time to pick up Kayleighs furever friend.
Any help is appreciated. Even a penny helps. Chris and I hate asking for help in any way but this is someting we feel like we cant do ourselfs. Let help Kayleigh get a furever pal. Thank you all so much. You have all been a true blessing in our lives whether it has been helping us when kayleigh is in the hospital, or giving donations in kayleighs honor to the kids in the hospital when kayleigh is admitted, or just overall being there for us. Thank you thank you thank you!
With Much Love,
God Bless,
The Guthrie Family
Organizer
Phylicia Tebbs Guthrie
Organizer
Williamsport, PA