Keyonah's Miracle Birthday Wish

Keyonah’s Miracle Birthday Wish

 

“Miracle”: an unusual or wonderful event that is believed to be caused by the power of God (Miriam-Webster definition)

 

“Dream”: something that fully satisfies a wish (Miriam-Webster definition)

 

Keyonah Spencer IS a miracle and likely knowing the inevitable to come, she has a dream to enjoy Disney World for her 15th birthday…a dream that she is determined to experience. Keyonah needs to travel before the onset of another cold Wisconsin winter, when she is most susceptible to illnesses. She has experienced numerous close calls in the last couple of years, with the family nearly losing her! Her birthday wish drives her life!

 

Beautiful Keyonah Spencer of Milton, WI entered this world on December 8th, 2006, as a healthy baby girl. Sadly, her loving mother Jenni, started to notice something didn’t seem normal, as early as three weeks after Keyonah’s birth.

 

At just 3-months of age, Keyonah was rushed to the University of WI Children’s Hospital and began treatment for a very rare spinal disorder, similar to Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), yet today nearly 15-years later, they still have not 100% definitively diagnosed the exact disorder. She spent the next year fighting for her life, with mother Jenni, Grandmother Gloria and medical personnel at her side, 24/7.

 

The hospital team prepared her mother for the worst, not expecting Keyonah to survive past infancy!

 

The family and hospital team soon realized that Keyonah was no ordinary infant and with the love of her mother, her grandmother and her family, she continued to surpass milestones in her development, despite her incredible medical issues. To continue surviving, she requires a ventilator and full-time medical care from either her parents or a nurse, to keep her healthy and cared for due to her paralyzed diaphragm and inability to generate any movement due to the muscular disorder. Keyonah is 100% fully dependent on others for every aspect of her care and existence.

 

Miraculously, she defied the odds and at the age of five, she was able to experience the joys of the ‘Make-A-Wish Foundation’ with a family trip to Disney World in Orlando, FL.

 

Nearly 15-years later and against all odds, Keyonah has grown to be a beautiful teenager and even attends 9th grade at the Milton (WI) Public High School and was recently voted to the student council by her teachers and classmates!!

 

This miracle of a human is only able to communicate with close friends and family through her eyes and by mouthing words! She also can text, do her homework, as well as enjoy her iPad as any teenager would, through a highly advanced technology system that operates via slight head movements.

 

Keyonah’s family is now complete with the love and hard work of her stepfather Joe, a US Army Captain, himself a helicopter pilot who served deployments in the Middle East. Joe has taken Keyonah under his 'wing' along with her mother and Keyonah’s two beautiful, loving siblings.

 

Although Keyonah continues to fight with an incredible will and drive, she does have this dream wish to travel back to Disney World in November to relive the memories of her earlier childhood. This trip needs to happen soon!

 

Please help us raise the money to make this incredible venture a reality, hence the reason for this GoFundMe drive.

 

To fulfill Keyonah's dream, they have planned a 10-day trip to Disney World, using a rental motorhome for transportation to Florida and back to Wisconsin, which is required for powering her ventilator as well as for her own comfort, since she must be adjusted and must change positions quite frequently.

 

The motorhome will allow her to stay comfortable and to be able to use her oxygen 24/7, while transporting her parents and siblings in the same vehicle. Once in Florida, they will have a hotel to use for a basecamp and a nurse accompanying them to make sure Keyonah can safely enjoy Disney World to the fullest, where children's dreams and wishes come true!!

 

Will you please support these efforts with a donation to Keyonah’s Miracle Birthday Wish?

 

Major Trip Expense Budget (approximated):

$2100: Motorhome rental

$1170: Motorhome mileage and generator fees

$1430: Motorhome fuel

$5200: Disney entry & 7-nights lodging while there

$ 400:   Hotels to and from Florida

 

$10,300.00 GoFundMe Campaign Goal...We Can Do This for Keyonah!!
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Important Disclosures:
1) If the GoFundMe fundraiser exceeds the $10,300 major trip expense budget, amounts in excess of that will be used by Keyonah's family towards her extensive health care and personal needs.

2) For those who prefer NOT to donate on-line, Advia Credit Union locations in Janesville and Beloit have established a 'Kindness for Keyonah' fund to assist the family's needs for Keyonah's care. Donors wishing to participate at Advia Credit Union for 'Keyonah's Miracle Birthday Wish' major trip expenses are asked to earmark your donation 'Disney Trip' in the memo line, please.

3) Lastly, this fundraiser is NOT affiliated with the VetsRoll program because it does not meet the definitions of our charitable mission.