Dear Ellen,
I know that there are hundreds of deserving families all
across the USA, but today I want to tell you about my friends, the
McCarleys. After a series of
miscarriages and a diagnosis of never being able to have children, Magen and
Keaton discovered that they would be parents the last week in September. On September 28th, Jett was
born. He was the apple of the whole
family’s eye, a true miracle. But, that
is just the beginning of my story. In
the Spring of the next year, Magen found herself pregnant again, with
twins. The family was amazed. This began going downhill during her 16th
week of gestation. Magen had to quit her
job and was put on bed rest. In the 21st
week of gestation, on the day of Jett’s first birthday party, Magen was
airlifted to Birmingham and UAB Hospital.
On October 1st, the babies made their appearance into the
world. They would be the earliest
surviving babies UAB had ever delivered.
Kash weighed in at 1.2 pounds and Kruze weighed in at 1.1 pounds. They were tiny fighters and everyone in the
NICU loved them. Kash had so many
serious health problems and on December 29th, with all of her loved
ones gathered round she left her earthly home.
Kruze remained in the hospital for several more weeks and when it was
time for her to come home 50+ Iron Order bikers lead her in. The whole town turned out because everyone
had been praying for this little one for a long time. Before they left the hospital there the
doctor’s prepared this fractured family with what they could expect from this
little one. According to all the tests
they had run before letting her go home, Kruze would more than likely never
hear, see, or speak. She would have
issues with upper respiratory infections.
She would probably never walk and she would probably have Cerebal
Palsy. It was ok with the family. She was alive, she was loved, she was so
tiny, but she thrived. When Kruze was
almost one her 28 year old daddy suffered a massive stroke. He was airlifted to Atlanta. This poor family had spent six months living
at UAB and now found themselves at Emory in Atlanta. They became the poster children for Murphy’s
Law. If anything could go wrong it did. Magen is one of the most amazing young women
I have ever known. She just takes it all
in stride and believes that God is in control….but, now both parents were jobless and one of them
was fighting for his life. After many
months at Shepherds in Atlanta Keaton came home. He walks with a cane for short distances, he
has no use of his right hand, and his speech and thought processes are very
diminished. Between therapists and
doctor appointments their lives are an endless supply of medical bills. Kruze celebrated her second birthday in October. This little miracle who would never talk,
see, or hear….jabbers constantly, sees, and hears well. She is feisty and independent. The best thing is that she walks….and
well. She is stiff when she walks, which
is contributed to the Cerebal Palsy…but she walks. She has therapy sessions each week and the
therapist has suggested that Kruze take dance lessons to help with the Cerebal
Palsy. Magen took her to see if this
would be doable….she was too young from formal classes, but the teacher allowed
her to try…..and she loves it. I would love
to ask you for everything they could use….but to be honest Ellen….I would love
for Kruze to have dance lessons. Can you help this happen? I hope she can. I know that there are so many other deserving families who need a break in life....but if you cold just see her in her little tutu....you would melt. I know I do. 
1 comment:
What a sweet letter. My heart goes out to that young couple.
Keep us posted on if Ellen responds!
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