Main fundraiser photo

Braelyn & Brielle’s RSV Fight & Recovery

Donation protected
Update the twins reunited after 65 days Brielle on left . Braelyn on right . Brielle is doing great . Braelyn is doing well also she has went home with her family with several obstacles to over come . A detailed update to follow .. our family is over joyed she is home with her siblings please continue to pray for her full recovery.. and please share her story . Medical attention will be continuous.

Braeyln and Brielle, miracle twin girls born healthy and full-term to parents Kristyn and Greg caught RSV at just six weeks old. 

Kristyn has taken a leave of absence from her reporting job at WBAY-TV in Green Bay to be with Braelyn as much as possible, but currently spends her time between Children’s Hospital in Milwaukee and Green Bay now that Brielle is home. 

Braelyn has now improved enough to breathe on her own and has moved out of the ICU. She's still expected to be hospitalized for several weeks and even after being released, will still make frequent trips to see pulmonologists and cardiologists at Children's Hospital along with having extensive occupational and physical therapy to help her regain strength from being so sick and catch up on her milestones. While challenging, this is great news from just a few weeks ago, when both Brielle and Braelyn were both hospitalized.

 This is not the first time Braelyn has been sick. Braelyn, at just three weeks old, spent 10 days in HSHS St. Vincent Children's Hospital in Green Bay in January with a respiratory virus called coronavirus. During that time, doctors also discovered a small hole in her heart called a ventricular septal defect or VSD. 

Braelyn wasn't home long before she suddenly became very sick again. Kristyn rushed her to the ER early in the morning of February 6 after she turned extremely pale and spent the previous day throwing up. She tested positive for Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV. Braelyn was placed on a ventilator by 9:30 that night. The next day, Brielle was hospitalized after showing similar symptoms, though less severe. She tested positive for RSV as well. Brielle was placed on a ventilator three days later.

By the following week, Braelyn was struggling even with maximum ventilator settings and doctors in Green Bay considered her so critical that it was in her best interest to be transported to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee to be placed on ECMO, a machine that acted as her lungs, giving them a chance to heal. 

Braelyn was transported to Milwaukee on February 13. Brielle was transported the following day. While she was sick enough to be on a ventilator, she was not critical and was transferred there to make the process of caring for both of them somewhat easier on the family. 

A team closely watched Braelyn for two days, but ultimately put her on ECMO on February 15 after her oxygen plummeted to 68. Tubing was surgically placed into a vessel that connected to her heart which circulated her blood out of her body slowly, oxygenated it and returned it. It came with risk of both blood clots and brain bleeds. Braelyn did have a brain bleed, but doctors are optimistic she'll recover from it.

After coming off ECMO on February 28, she was still on her ventilator for a little over two weeks. Then she was transitioned to high flow oxygen for several days before getting a regular oxygen nasal cannula.

Brielle came off her ventilator and had some additional oxygen support. She also had to learn to drink from a bottle again. She came home on March 3 and is doing wonderful. She loves to laugh and watch her big sister, Bailey. 

Braelyn remains in the hospital working on getting weaned off some of the drugs she’s been on and is working with a speech pathologist to learn to eat again. She also works with physical and occupational therapists. Braelyn is making improvements every day, but still has a long road ahead of her.

Although they knew Braelyn was extremely critical, Kristyn and Greg later found out that the doctor who came from Milwaukee to get Braelyn didn’t think she’d survive the two hour transport in the ambulance. Braelyn proved them wrong and Kristyn and Greg have been told many times how tough Braelyn is. Kristyn and Greg are determined to do whatever necessary to help her continue to heal and recover. That process will include extensive follow ups and therapy for many months to come. 

Any money raised will help Greg and Kristyn care for Braelyn. Kristyn has not received a paycheck in several months since she has been on maternity leave which has transitioned into a leave of absence from her job. 

This page is managed by Deanna Newman, Kristyn’s cousin.
Donate

Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $50 
    • 5 yrs
Donate

Fundraising team: On behalf of Kristyn Allen (3)

Deanna Newman
Organizer
Raised $2,795 from 50 donations
De Pere, WI
Kristyn Bates
Beneficiary
Melissa Foster
Team member
Melissa Foster
Team member
This team raised $1,155 from 28 other donations.

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily.

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about.

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the  GoFundMe Giving Guarantee.