Kiki Wheeler's Family Needs


Beloved wife and mother Kirstin “Kiki” Wheeler passed away unexpectedly on March 23, 2019, at the age of 36. She was a kind and generous woman who was a caretaker and councilor to her family and friends. As a classically-trained vocalist (who declined her admission to Florida State University’s school of music in order to start a family), she filled her home with hymns and showtunes from Broadway musicals. Her faith in Christ, she expressed through song, daily prayer, kindness towards others, and advocacy for the unborn and the welfare of infants and young children.
Kiki became ill with a stomach flu on the evening of March 18 and became progressively weaker overnight. The following morning she called EMS, presumably to be treated for dehydration; however, as the ambulance approached the hospital she had a massive seizure and went into cardiac arrest. She went into cardiac arrest three more times in the hospital before finally being stabilized and put into a medically-induced coma. Her body was cooled to near freezing for twenty-four hours to limit the extent of damage to her brain, and when she was re-warmed her family waited expectantly for any sign of brain activity. Unfortunately, there was no brain activity, and she was declared clinically dead on March 23 at 2:30pm.
Due to Kiki’s relatively young age and sudden death, we are frequently asked how such a thing could happen. The short answer is that we do not really know, it came as a complete surprise for which we were unprepared. However, Kiki was a brittle type 1 diabetic. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease of the pancreas and causes the body to be unable to make insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar. The term ‘brittle’ refers to when a diabetic’s blood sugar is notoriously difficult to control and often varies wildly in response to external stresses. Normal blood sugar is 100. At the time of her death, Kiki’s blood sugar was over 1,000. When blood sugar is this high it causes a pathological state in the body called diabetic ketoacidosis, which was listed as her cause of death. We think that her infection and subsequent dehydration caused her blood sugar to suddenly increase to dangerous levels, and due to the speed at which this occurred even Kiki, who is extremely knowledgeable about type 1 diabetes, failed to recognize and treat the condition in time.
Kiki is survived by her husband, Michael, and their two children, Michael Jr (15) and Jonathan (8), as well as numerous extended family members and friends. While we are all recovering from the shock of her death and coping with our grief, her husband is also attempting to manage the sudden medical and funerary expenses and, most importantly, the provision of their children’s current and future medical and educational needs - particularly for their eldest son who is also a Type 1 diabetic and will be attending college soon.
We hope that you will consider making a donation to this fundraiser in honor of our sweet Kirstin and the people amazing way that she touched the lives of those around her. She was not afraid of her own death, as she would be in Heaven, but worried about the impact of her death on her husband and children who would continue on without her. Thank you all for your generosity, and please remember to pray for Kiki and her family.