Kaitlyn Marie, Cheyenne's Special Angel Cousin

Kaitlyn Marie came into our lives at 2:37 AM on August 30, 1993.  She was a beautiful 7lb 7oz baby girl with a head full of black hair.  Immediately after birth it was apparent that something was terribly wrong... She was whisked away to the NICU and my brother Greg and his wife Mckenna were told that she had aspirated some meconium... and that they needed to clear her airways.  But a while later, the grim news of a heart defect was delivered.  They said that she had something called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: Essentially, she was missing the left side of her heart.   In 1993, in our region, there was not a lot that had been done to treat this disease.  I remember being in a conference room, listening to Dr. Yeager talk about how her heart was made and what the options were.  We were told that Kaitlyn had a serious case, one of the most complex that they had seen.  There was a surgery to temporarily fix the problem, but there would be more surgeries needed down the road.  And they said that Kaitlyn was very sick because it had taken them a while to learn what was wrong, her chances of surviving the surgeries was not good.  With the information that was passed on to them, her parents decided not to put her through that pain and suffering and let her go home to God.  She was in her mothers arms at 10:15 that same morning, when she became an angel. 

We were all able to spend time with her privately.  My family held her, and we took pictures of this beautiful little girl who had spent just a few short hours here with us.   On September 4, 1993 we laid her to rest in Hope cemetery.  There were lots of beautiful pink and white flowers, and lots of tears.  So many questions were unanswered.  Why did this happen, why  Kaitlyn?  We had never heard of heart defects before.  We never expected it to break our hearts again.. but 10 years and 5 days later, Cheyenne was born.  When they told me that she, too, had a heart defect, I was so scared.  But I think it was Kaitlyn who saved her life.  I believe that Kaitlyn is her angel, watching over her and protecting her.   I feel so lucky to have been able to know that little baby, even though it wasn't for long.  She had such an impact on my life and I think of her every day.  This page is dedicated to her memory.  She will always be an important part of our lives.  Although we can no longer hold her in our arms, she will forever be in our hearts.