Mark and Kayla Edwards live in the suburbs of Kansas City, MO with their four children Charlotte (6), Nolan (3), Ian (1), and Felicity (newborn). They attend church at Church of The Four Corners in Independence, MO where they volunteer and serve on a weekly basis. Kayla is a teacher, but currently stays home with their children and homeschools their oldest daughter, while Mark works a few miles away in Kansas. On August 25th, Mark was admitted to the hospital for Covid and the Edwards family expected the time and care in the hospital to be brief and to a minimum just to get Mark feeling well again. On the morning of August 27th Mark started declining and had to be placed on a ventilator. At the time of his hospital admittance, Kayla was 39 weeks pregnant with their baby girl, Felicity. On August 29th she delivered baby Felicity in a way she never imagined, without her husband by her side. Their world in the last 4 weeks has been turned upside down. Mark is still currently on a ventilator in ICU as well as ECMO. Kayla is navigating through trying to raise their 4 kiddos while also being by Mark’s side whenever possible.

We have had several people reaching out asking how they can help. First and foremost, PRAYER. Mark needs prayers. Kayla and the children also need prayers, this is a very emotional time for all of them. That is the best support we can ask for. We believe and have faith he will return home and be greeted by his wife and children and finally get to hold his baby girl. We know our God is bigger than covid and he has a plan bigger than we can imagine.

The last month has been a whirlwind, and we know there is still a journey ahead. Kayla is dedicated to being there for her children and husband as much as she possibly can. Unfortunately, grocery bills, mortgages, car payments, utilities, and just life in general doesn’t just stop in the midst of a storm. According to the doctors, we know that it is possible that Mark may not return home until after the holidays. Once he is stable and breathing on his own there will be a road ahead of him for therapies that take more time away from his job and most importantly his family. He will have to learn to do daily tasks again that a lot of us take for granted. Mark and Kayla would never ask for this help on their own, but we are all family and a tribe and we want to pull together and take some of the burden off of them so they can focus on healing and their children. We ask you to consider any dollar amount you can give to help them through this time. Please continue to also pause and pray for them daily. We know there has already been many prayers and some of you have sent gift cards and gifts to Kayla and the kids as well as diapers and other packages and she appreciates it so much. Thank you all!