Sweet Baby Kai

Hi family, hi friends! Hello internet! 

Those who have Lynnette on social media have read her post regarding Kai and the challenges they’ve had in his first week of life. Those of you who do not know Lynnette but are reading this, here’s a quick summary:

Kai was born Dec 28th and 3 days after being discharged from the hospital Lynn and Brandon drove Kai to the ER. He was projectile vomiting and couldn’t hold anything down. A minute into his feedings he’d start rejecting mommas milk.

After ultrasounds and xrays they were admitted for dehydration and emergency transferred by ambulance to the Naval Medical Center in San Diego.

Upon arrival, the pediatrics and surgical team ran their own tests, and found a possible obstruction in Kais intestines. He was immediately taken up for surgery where they removed adhesions, cleared the obstruction, and removed his appendix to avoid any future issues.

Kai is currently in the PICU recovering and being monitored. The goal is for Kai to retain his milk and progressively have bowel movements however,  the vomiting has continued and they are now waiting for the surgical team to examine him and decide how to move forward. There is no estimate of how long Kai will have to stay there.

Lynn and Brandon are very good friends of mine. Lynn and I talk every day, she’s a very kind and compassionate friend. We’ve always been there through each other’s toughest times and usually, we support each other and lift each other’s spirits up however, this has been a total different experience for
me. An experience I was not prepared for and I’ve never felt so lost for words or even know where to begin to console her. There is ALWAYS humor in our conversations but clearly, there’s nothing I can do right now to crack a smile on her face. I know she’s feeling defeated  all while trying to remain “strong.” My intention for this account is to alleviate them from any unforeseen financial distress they may be going through. It’s really traumatic for any parent to witness their babies suffer, nonetheless experience medical challenges in the first week of your newborns life. As a friend and especially as a mom, it’s been very challenging and emotional to find ways to console Lynn. It’s heart wrenching not knowing what can happen next and I’ve felt totally helpless. Regardless of the severity of Kais condition and their faith in God, I know Lynnette is broken. She’s restless, exhausted  and my momma heart hurts for her.

Lynn and Brandon would never ask for money. I know all they’d ever ask for is a prayer however, I also know that if we all donated $5 or $10 or even 1, we would contribute and help them with covering a meal, a bill, anything that they may be tapping into savings or credit cards for.  If I can at minimal do that for them, I know it would be alleviating. Brandon and Lynn are currently alternating with Emmie (their 13month old baby girl) who’s not allowed to visit her baby brother in the PICU. They’re surviving off pure faith and although this may feel little, I know they’d appreciate the support and would undoubtedly do the same for another family. 

Again, it’s not obligatory. She would never ask, I’m not sure it’s even needed but if together we can say, “here, lunch is on us” for their time remaining away from home, it’s one less thing for them to worry about.  Although Brandon qualifies for Paid Family Leave through the state, Brandon and Lynnette currently only have one income and partial pay through the state was not an option. Brandon originally planned on being out of work for one week to bond with his new baby however, with these circumstances, he will be out of work longer than planned. Any expense that was probably not part of this postpartum journey would be one less thing for them to worry about. Thank you all for reading and of course, thank you for the support.