Merry Christmas Kayleigh

Kayleigh,

You are 3 years old this Christmas and if you were here, I would probably be watching you impatiently sit at the top of the stairs, waiting for the go ahead to come down and open your presents from Santa. I can hear your soft whimper as you pout, "Is it time Daddy?"

I can imagine how my overprotective self would come running up the stairs to pick you up so you didn't fall down the steps in a mad dash. A glimmer of excitement would come across your face, turning off the trickles of tears, knowing it was time to see what was waiting for her by the Christmas tree.

I would set your squirming little body down and with a brief pause of a moment, your eyes would be wider than ever before. A smile builds upon your face and before I could say, "Go ahead," you bolt to the biggest gift hiding behind the Christmas tree. What would it be??? A rocking horse like her Daddy had when he was little or her first red and white tricycle? Knowing how spoiled she would be, she'd probably get both.

While watching you open your gifts and cover the whole downstairs completely with pink and brown wrapping paper, I would sit in amazement at how lucky I am to have the most adorable little girl. I wouldn't have to open a single gift because my gift is opening her own.

Kayleigh, you are the best present I could ever receive. You have given me the gift of love and have taught me the gift of giving. Your heart is bigger than anything in this world and you continue to give faith, hope and love to everyone who knows you. You have taught me and so many others to give from your heart, whether it is Christmas or not. You're such a blessing and I am beyond grateful and proud to be your Daddy.

Days continue to pass on and instead of crying my eyes out that you are no longer here, it just reminds me that I am one more Christmas closer to holding you in my arms again.

We all love and miss you so much sugar bear!

Merry Christmas,

Daddy

2011 Heart Walk

This year's American Heart Association Heart Walk was a great success and it goes without saying that Kayleigh again shined down on many hearts to make this all possible.

As a proud father of the amazing life Kayleigh lived, I wanted to continue sharing her legacy with more and more people by donating my services free to help educate others to live a healthier lifestyle through fitness.

For 8 weeks, I met with some of the most amazing people and delivered not only a great work out, but had some incredible people in the fitness industry share their knowledge to make the best out of every class. We learned new exercises, nutrition, yoga, thai chi, Juice Plus, goal setting and had motivational speakers come in to share their experience with heart disease and how fitness has changed their lives.

This group of people not only came together week after week to get fit, but helped motivate each other in more ways than I could ever imagine. We topped the Fit Camp off with our yearly Heart Walk where we all walked together to help raise money for a great cause.

I am beyond blessed to have met some phenomenal people and I look forward to next year where we can all do it again.

Thank you Kayleigh for the inspiration you have given me to help others and I wish you were here to have met my new friends. Thank you for watching over us all.

Best wishes,

Adam Freeman
www.AdamFreemanPT.blogspot.com

Need Your Support!

Hello Everyone...I need your support. I am blessed to announce that I have been named to the Executive Leadership Team for the American Heart Association for the Cape Fear Region. Feeling the urge to do extra to continue being a great father for Kayleigh, I've wanted to get involved anyway I can with different sorts of organizations and this journey has started with the March of Dimes and the American Heart Association.

Beyond this amazing designation, I wanted to give my services through my job to help others live a healthier lifestyle and being a personal trainer, it has given me the opportunity to do such that. I have decided to give my services for FREE to those who are local and would like to get involved with my Heart Healthy Fit Camp. It is a program for all ages and all fitness levels. I am not making a single dime on this program and all it takes to participate is a $50.00 donation to the American Heart Association.

Now I know a lot of you who have followed Kayleigh's journey are not local to participate in my program, but there is definitely a way you can help our team succeed in this years Cape Fear Heart Walk. In Kayleigh's name, I am asking for donations to help support a great cause. You don't have to donate a lot, but a little bit will add up.

We all know Kayleigh's heart condition (Pulmonary Hypertension) was one of the leading causes for her under development which landed her as one of the smallest to ever undergo open heart surgery, but the technology of today was the reason Aimee and I were able to spend over 10 months with our sweet daughter. That was the biggest blessing to us and we would love to give that blessing and more to other families out there.

Please click on the link below or the link in the top left toolbar to help give to a great cause. We greatly appreciate it more than ever.



Thank you so very much!

My Baby Steps

I am have been sitting in my room tonight thinking about this past week and all the craziness that has happened. After having dinner with Aimee, I have had many strong feelings weigh on my mind. I felt the need to post about what has been lacking in my life concerning Kayleigh and the fact that she is no longer in my life other than a memory of what it was like to hold her close to my skin, kissing her whenever I wanted and sharing in the love I felt with her with Aimee by my side through all the ups and downs of our journey.

I was looking through a lot of photos that most of you have never seen. Whenever Aimee and I would go to the hospital to spend our time with Kayleigh, I would take hundreds of photos, but only post the best of the best. Right now after looking at all the photos I have...they are all the best of the best.

I have had a tough couple of days this week and one of the things I have realized is that I have not been able to grieve Kayleigh's passing like I should, so I have planned to take things to the next level and speak with a professional to help me through my struggles. I feel and hope this is the best move for me to handle the pain that subsides deep inside that I can not seem to reach on my own. It has been a tough road and I am sure all of those out there who have lost a child can agree that this is no easy road to travel.

I wanted to share a few photos with you all that you have never seen before that touched my heart tonight and I wanted to ask a favor as I am dealing with a troublesome time right now. Please pray for me that I am able to seek out the help I need to regain my self and to get a grasp on my emotions so I can grieve about Kayleigh's death like I am supposed to. I ask for prayers of quick healing as I take my baby steps.

These are the photos that touched my heart tonight that I want to share with you all....













God Bless Everyone and please pray for me.

Kayleigh Shines

A few weeks back, Aimee and I received this email below and we were speechless. Take a look at it and enjoy...

Dear Adam & Aimee,

I am from Charlotte and used to go to Elevation and from that, I learned about Ferris and Wade's twin girls when they announced they had been born early and to keep them in our prayers. Through the blog Ferris kept about the girls, I found your blog about Kayleigh and I know you probably get a ton of people sharing how she impacted them, but I really believe she touched me the most as far as strangers go.

I was sixteen or seventeen when I first read through what was happening and I cried. At the time I think she was about to undergo her open heart surgery and I was in awe that doctors' would be capable of performing such a daunting task on such a tiny person. I have twin cousins that were born about 9 weeks early at about 5 pounds and 3 pounds and holding them for the first time was the most humbling experience of my life at the point in time. Thinking back to that and trying to imagine either of them undergoing any kind of surgery was amazingly impossible to wrap my mind around, but there Kayleigh was proving that she was strong enough for basically anything.

Anyway, I never thought about being a doctor or nurse because I was so passionate about dancing and photography and the arts, but reading your blog over those months changed me. I decided I didn't want to waste my education and life doing something for myself just because I was good at it. I decided I wanted to actually be there not just emotionally but physically for future Kayleighs'. I want to be there to fight for infants like her who weren't given a fair shot at life.

I just finished my freshman year at UNC Greensboro as a pre-nursing major. I haven't decided if I want to go to medical school after or continue with nursing and get my MSN. Either way, I know I will be a Neonatal nurse or Neonatologist and that is all thanks to your family, especially Kayleigh. She was simply amazing in the most innocent way. My mother and I always wanted to come to the hospital to meet you and your family but we felt as though we would be imposing on your precious time with her. I've always wanted to thank you for opening up your life to the world and sharing because without that, I would not be who I am and who I know I will be.

Tonight an old friend and I were catching up and he asked what I was in school for and what I wanted to be. Of course his first question was why because he knew me back in my art-absorbed days so I told him all about Kayleigh. After talking about it, I realized I hadn't been to the blog in at least a year maybe even two, which kind of makes me sad, so I revisited. I saw you are now living in Wilmington and immediately I knew I needed to finally thank you because I moved down here about two weeks ago for the summer. Small world! Thank you so much for letting me and so many others into your life. I am eternally grateful to you and your family.

-Chloe Nickles

So after reading this email, I contacted Aimee and Bo and we immediately put plans together to take Chloe out to dinner to catch up with her and see how things are going. It was a phenomenal dinner as we enjoyed some sushi and shared stories with each other. It was a blessing to meet someone like Chloe and to see how our little angel has touched yet another persons life so much.

Here is Aimee, Chloe and I.