Camille Bree McKinney

To Family and Friends of Heydi and Jamar McKinney: 

Many of us know the story of this loving couple and their family, but for those who don’t- Heydi and Jamar have been in a relationship for over 8 years and married for 3 of those. They are parents to 3 upstanding young men- Jaylon (19) Tristyn (15) and Cameron (12). They decided they wanted to add one more to their crew, the first they would share together. After trying for some time, Heydi and Jamar were ecstatic to find out they were expecting a baby in January 2022. The added bonus was that the newest addition would be their first GIRL! 

Camille Bree McKinney didn’t want to wait until the new year to enter the world, so she made her quick appearance on December 31, 2021 at 11:40 pm. Immediately- Heydi and Jamar fell deeply in love with their beautiful baby girl. 

Family and friends welcomed Camille from a very safe (virtual) distance and the new parents surrounded their seemingly healthy sweet daughter with the love and care she needed. 

Four days new to the world, Heydi and Jamar, surrounded by Medical staff and Doctors, found out that Camille was born with a congenital heart defect. Her tiny body was in shock and organs had began shutting down. She was care-flighted to Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston and treatment/testing began immediately. Many prayers from those near and far helped bring Camille to a point where the surgical team in Houston felt optimistic about their ability to have open heart surgery to repair her heart. Being the little warrior that she is, Camille enabled the surgeon to successfully complete her open heart surgery on January 12, 2022. 

Everyone’s prayers, support and messages have all been a huge blessing to Heydi, Jamar and Camille. This is a very difficult journey to be on but Camille is proving to be a fighter and her parents are her heroes for being there for her as they have. Their faith in God and the power of prayer have helped lead them through these last several weeks, in some very hard times and will continue to lead them through as they navigate these waters. 

We plan to continue to share the journey of Camille’s HEALING. 

Now, Heydi and Jamar need OUR help! We are reaching out to all of the family, friends and also to those that connect with their story- above all, please continue or begin praying HUGE PRAYERS for both Camille’s health to improve and for her parents to have the strength and means to be the best support system they can be for their precious baby.

The future needs of this family are still somewhat unknown at this point, but we do know they are going to need the help of this community to help relieve the financial strain being placed on them. Camille will still be in the hospital recovering for at least 4 or more weeks and her parents will continue to take time away from home and work to be there for her. 

In addition to praying for them, we are asking that you would please consider donating to this family, no matter how big or small. A GoFundMe account has been set up for them that you can donate to.

To Heydi and Jamar: We are all so blessed to know you and cannot wait to have you all back home with Camille Bree and your sons. We are all SO PROUD of how you have handled this unquestionably difficult journey you have been faced with- but you are doing such rewarding work by being the best parents ever to your baby girl. 

With Love,

Friends and Family