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Baby Kinsley's Surgery Fund

In July 2017, my wife and I were blessed with our first grandchild.  A beautiful little girl.  My son Patrick and his wife, Katie named her Kinsley.  Such a beautiful name for a beautiful girl.  Kinsley had a very rough start to life, spending the first many days in the hospital's neo-natal intensive care.  Not long after bringing her home, Katie noticed a spot on the right rear of her head that appeared to be flattened and not changing.  After visiting with specialists, Kinsley was diagnosed with plagiocephaly.  A condition where the baby's skull does not grow outward evenly.  As you can see in her photo, Kinsley was fitted with an expensive helmet to control the growth in certain areas while allowing more in other parts of the skull.  Insurance did not cover the cost of this helmet.  $2500.00 is a big expense to two young parents.  Friends, family members and loving people reading this;  Patrick is a designer for an engineering firm working his way through college at night when he can.  Katie is an 8th grade middle school social studies teacher.  Neither of them makes great money and health insurance is just not what it should be.  Due to Kinsley's condition, Katie took a leave of absence from her job to care for her and in doing so had to switch to Patrick's more expensive health insurance.  
Kinsley's specialist informed Patrick and Katie that the helmet that they paid $2500.00 did not correct the problem and in fact, the specialist believed the problem with Kinsley's skull to be worse than originally thought.  They were referred to a pediatric neurosurgeon at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.  On December 22, 2017 they received the news they had been praying would not come.  After a scan of Kinsley's skull, Hopkins surgeons determined that Kinsley has a skull condition that only 1 in 40,000 children with skull conditions has.  A baby's head has a natural Y that creates three distinct plates of skull.  They are designed to allow the baby's brain to grow and once to full growth the natural sutures as they are referred to will close forming one skull.  Kinsley's was born without one leg of the Y.  This condition can cause everything from minor disfigurement (eyes and ears not even) to more serious conditions that would cause the skull to depress against the brain as she grows.  Kinsley needs your prayers.  Patrick and Katie need your prayers.  Doctors at Johns Hopkins have no othe recourse than to operate on Kinsley's tiny beautiful skull to add the leg of the Y that nature left out.  Literally cutting away a sliver of bone. 

As if matters could not get any worse, after announcing that she will be operated on January 22, 2018, Patrick and Katie received news that their health insurance would not cover the first $6000.00 of the surgery/treatment.  We are all just floored by this.  Asking for help is not something we are known for in our family.  But this time we need help.  Kinsley will be required to be hospitalized for a period of time depending on the extent of the surgery and her reaction to it.  Patrick or Katie will have to be with her the whole time.  As all of you know, expenses amass quickly.  Following her hospital stay she will need to be in a protective helmet for up to 8 months.  Because of growth, that will mean several of them.  If each costs $2500.00, Patrick and Katie will not be able to handle the costs.
     We are working out a schedule to help and to take care of Oliver, their faithful protector who is rarely away from Kinsley as you can see in some of our photos.

     Thank you all for reading. Please donate and share this.
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Donations 

  • Marcus Jackson
    • $25 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Bill Ryan
Organizer
Bel Air, MD
Katie Ryan
Beneficiary

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