Have a Heart for Kelsey

Please spend a few minutes learning about our niece, Kelsey’s life.

Kelsey was born with a heart defect and required heart surgery at 9 months old. That first surgery had a very poor outcome and resulted in Kelsey requiring 6 more open heart surgeries in the following 8 months, a second opinion in Texas and finally, at the age of 3, a successful valve surgery in Michigan. A valve that was predicted to last approximately 10 years. Kelsey spent over 560 days in a hospital in her first 3 years. From infancy to a toddler her parents missed those typical milestones that all parents look forward to, like first words and first steps. They were simply praying for their daughter to survive.

So many surgeries at such a young age caused Kelsey to suffer major, irreparable damages that she and her parents would have to endure the rest of her life. Kelsey doesn’t talk; she has brain damage and is completely non-verbal due to loss of oxygen during all those surgeries at such a young age. Kelsey doesn’t eat; she’s fed through a g-tube line through her stomach. She’s not stable on her feet and needs assistance to walk. She has a pacemaker; she’s been on multiple drugs her whole life.

John and Lisa…

As you can imagine, the toll this took on her parents has been a complete and total economic and emotional devastation. John and Lisa lost everything. Lisa couldn’t work, and John lost his dental lab, their house, all of their belongings. They sacrificed everything for the well-being and care of their daughter. In February 2022, Lisa, Kelsey’s mother, passed away from a sudden illness. John is now left alone to care for Kelsey and Kelsey is left without a mother.

In April 2022, after having to bury his wife, Kelsey’s health rapidly deteriorated. She began showing symptoms of heart failure; John was faced with an impossible decision, 10 years had passed, he packed up what he could, mostly medical supplies and some clothes and made plans to return to Michigan as advised by Kelsey's cardiologists.

The worst news a parent can receive…

On a Saturday morning in April, John’s sister Judy, along with John and Kelsey, boarded a plane to Michigan with the hopes of Kelsey receiving another life-saving surgery. This time, the outcome would be the exact opposite. The results of a cardiac cath revealed that Kelsey is in heart failure. In medical terms… She has right and left sided diastolic heart failure. This means both ventricles can’t fill with enough blood and can't pump an adequate amount of blood throughout her body.

Official diagnosis: Kelsey has months to live.

In June, Kelsey turned 13; despite this devastating diagnosis, her dad struggled to celebrate her birthday, making it as special and happy as he could, knowing this would be the last birthday he would have with her.

Our brother, John, defines the word parent. He is a father, mother, sibling, friend, playmate and 24 hours a day caretaker and medical advocate. John doesn’t stop, he’s been working on what you’d call “parental adrenaline” for the last 13 years.

We now need financial help. John has nothing. Kelsey’s medical care, her specific dietary needs and the general cost of living in 2022 have been overwhelming. On top of all that, we have a funeral to plan for.

John needs your help.

We have waited so long, we have put off doing this for so long. It’s time for us, John and Kelsey’s family, to ask our extended family and friends near and far for assistance.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. We can’t thank you enough for any support you are able to give. It means the world to John - that you can be a part of his world. Please keep them in your prayers.

Sincerely from John’s siblings,

Judy, Rob, Lisa and Donna