4/1/09 - 9 Months in Review

Before I take you on a journey of the past 9 months, I wanted to tell you how Kayleigh is doing today. If you didn't follow my tweets on Twitter or Facebook the other day, Kayleigh's surgery was cancelled by a last minute belly issue. Her tummy blew up and she was having some serious diarrhea.

Right now, Kayleigh's belly has reduced in size and it is soft. She had a great day today. The doctors are not sure when the surgery will be rescheduled. We have to coordinate between two surgeons as they are doing both the PEG placement and the bilateral hernia repair. They will be doing a biopsy of her intestines at that point too to determine what is going on with Kayleigh's belly problem.

Okay, one of Kayleigh's prayer warriors posted a comment yesterday to post some photos of Kayleigh from each month over the past nine months. So, I thought it would be a good idea to do just that.

I hope you enjoy :)


Weighing only 13 ounces, Kayleigh was less than a week old.


Measuring only 11 inches in her first month of life.


Still a peanut at 2 months old with our favorite outfit on.


3 months and around 2 pounds - 4 ounces


One of my all-time favorite photos at 4 months old.


Night before open heart surgery at 5 months and just over 3 pounds.


An astonishing and quick recovery from heart surgery, but would
soon battle a tough 6th month as she faces death, but lives.


An exciting new year to celebrate in the 7th month.


Kayleigh can breathe better at 8 months with her new trach


Kayleigh's hopes to go home in her 9th month.

If you haven't seen the video, click here "Kayleigh's Video" and you will see the full story with tons of photos. I am actually working on a new video with my photographer who shot at our wedding. It is going to be awesome and I can't wait to share it with you all in the near future. It will include photos of when Kayleigh comes home, so it will have that perfect ending this time.

Thank you all for sharing in this journey with us and thank you so much for all of your prayers.

God Bless,

3/29/09 - Surgery Updates on Facebook/Twitter





If you have not signed up to follow me on Twitter, do so as I will be updating the surgery tomorrow and future posts. The link to get to Kayleigh's Twitter page is here: Kayleigh Freeman

The great thing about it is you can set your cell phone up to get a text message from me every time I tweet. I update Twitter and Facebook whenever I submit a new post anyhow, so it may be good to add Twitter so you know when a new post arrives. This will keep you from watching the blog roll to see who submitted new posts.

If you don't want to add the text messages to your phone (which you aren't required to when you sign up for a Twitter account) just go over to the right tool bar, a little ways down and you can see the updated tweets. I will be updating often tomorrow throughout the surgery to give you all updates as I get them. This will keep me from lugging my computer around to post every time I get some news. I can tweet from my cellphone, so it is as easy as that.

Also, if you would like to get more involved with the blog, following us on Twitter and Facebook is going to be key because I plan on doing more updates throughout the day. I may not only update about Kayleigh, but the rest of the family too which include interesting facts about us all. I want to get to know you all as well, so if you see something you want to share with us, you can respond to each individual tweet/update on our Facebook page.

I look forward to giving you all some wonderful updates tomorrow. Please pray over Kayleigh and the doctors that this will be a complete success so Kayleigh can work towards a quick recovery.

Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

God Bless,

3/27/09 - Surgery Scheduled

Oh what a day! Finally we have narrowed down a time for Kayleigh's upcoming surgeries. Monday starting at 12:00, the doctors are going to perform a PEG placement surgery, then a bilateral hernia repair, and then they will do a biopsy of Kayleigh's bowels to test for a motility deficiency. Their thought is Hirschsprungs disease, so we will see if that checks out.

We received an email from someone who has had similar problems with their child's belly blowing up, but were never able to figure out the problem. We plan to speak more in depth with them and get an understanding of what other tests to figure out where the underlying issue is. Like some of you had said, it may not be Hirschsprungs because she has been able to stool on her own without stimulation. So, hopefully your right and that is the case, but at least the biopsy will rule that out and we can move on to other possibilities.

Please keep Kayleigh in your prayers Monday around 12:00 (EST) and pray that she will come through these procedures with flying colors and we can get back on the right track to coming home.

For some reason I feel very positive about all of the procedures that I can feel it in the pit of my stomach that something great is going to happen. I can't really express my feelings beyond descriptive words, unless.....I show you in a couple photos. Hmmmm, let me think.....

Okay...I got it!!!!


Right now, this is how I feel after yesterdays post:





And this is how I am going to be once all the procedures are done and we can get to go home:



Lord Help Me! :)

3/26/09 - Donation Total - Need of Prayers

Wow! I was off the other day when I put in a guestimate for how much donations came in. We are so blessed to announce that the total amount of donations that came in for the giveaway were $6,623.

Thank you tons!!! We are so fortunate to have such a great support system through this trying time. I can't imagine where we would be if we didn't have you all to guide us through our hard times, help answer questions we have and contribute financially to help us get by. Every single one of you are such a true blessing.

Please pray for Kayleigh, the Drs. and my sanity right now. Way back when Kayleigh had her gastrointestinal surgery to see what was wrong with her slow bowels, they said they were doing a biopsy of Kayleigh's intestines to determine whether or not the cause of the problem was Hirschsprung's Disease. The reason they were supposed to do that was because Aimee asked for it to be done and if I am not mistaken, I think one of you all mentioned it to us.

Well, it turns out there are no documentation of that being done now and they are planning to do it again while Kayleigh has her PEG procedure. Supposedly they did a biopsy for Cystic Fibrosis, but we were never told of anything about that at all. If they find out it is Hirshsprung's disease, the procedure it takes to correct that problem will be a Colostomy Surgery which will definitely set us back further in to bringing her home.

Aimee and I are quite frustrated at this point because if this belly issues is a problem that we have been having for so long now, and with us mentioning this problem to the Drs. a long time ago, we are going to be so angry that this could have been taken care of a while back. Please pray that this is not the case because I don't want to be un-Christian-like to anyone :)

We need to have a rally with picket signs, saying "HURRY UP YO! Kayleigh's got to go!" (sorry, that was cheesy). Anyhow, I am about done with all these setbacks and my head is about to explode here. This is why I need you all to pray for my sanity as well! Listen to me, I am starting to look a little like this guy:



Thank you all again for your support through all of this and let's keep our prayers going strong so Kayleigh can come home.

God Bless,

3/26/09 - Meet the Winners/Thoughtful Thursday

First of all, thank you again for everyone who entered the donation giveaway. Below are the winners of each package. You may click on the links beside each name to see what they won. Congratulations to everyone and God Bless!!!


Package #1 - Cathy Sanden

Package #2 - Kristine Fox

Package #3 - Danyele Esterhaus

Package #4 - Michelle Martin

Referral Package - Carol Ann Nadeau





This has been on very exciting week for the Freeman family and we are happy to share our fifth "Thoughtful Thursdays" event with you. We will be doing this every week and we would love for everyone to join in and do something nice for someone out there.

Okay, here is how our "Thoughtful Thursdays" works.

You all are going to go out in to this crazy world and do something EXTRA nice for someone else. You can do something nice for someone you love, someone you don't love, or someone you you have never had the chance to love and come back here to share about it each and every Thursday.

God has shown Himself through Kayleigh and we need to glorify Him in all that we do. We need to touch other people with our kindness and spread the love of God with Kayleigh's story to everyone we possibly can. When you deliver your good deed to someone, let them know that they were touched by Kayleigh and share her website with them, so they too can join in on Kayleigh's journey and our "Thoughtful Thursdays" to glorify God.

This week, I want to spotlight Brandy Painter and her husband for their kind gesture to that poor waitress. It is a really cute story and you can read that story by CLICKING HERE. We have all had one of those days. Thank you so much Brandy for posting your Thoughtful Thursday and also, thank you tons for donating one of your Scentsy Warmers for the Donation/Giveaway. We received ours a while back and it has been the life of our kitchen. The variety of smells are unbelievable and I don't have to worry about burning down the house! (ha-ha) Seriously, if you have not gotten one of these for your house, it is a must! Go check them out.

NOW...You you have got to think outside the box and come back and share it with us and the world. Be creative and make your stories stand out. You never know, your story may be in the spolight for ALL to see, plus it wouldn't hurt to share good ideas for others to pay it forward.

Here's how you get your link on our blog for "Thoughtful Thursdays"

Go to YOUR blog, create a new post for "Thoughtful Thursdays". Start by copying and pasting all the following HTML code at the beginning your post.(NOTE: Make sure you are in HTML mode or view when you paste in HTML code!):








Then, click the Mister Linky's Link DOWN BELOW for the form to enter the title of your BLOG (not your post, your blog), and the link to your blog, or the blog post, either one. (if you don't have a blog, feel free to leave a comment, but we would prefer you put up a post if you have a blog.)

That's it! You'll be linked in today's entry.

Can't wait to read your blog posts for "Thoughtful Thursdays"





God Bless,

3/24/09 - Sleeping Beauty :)



Over the past couple days, we have been on hold with any type of surgery for Kayleigh's feeding situation. Kayleigh's belly started to blow up last week and with the fear of an infection, many tests were being done to catch whatever was causing this to happen. They stopped her feeds and then things started to fall apart quickly.

The first thing that took place was bleeding in her trach, which could have been caused by numerous reasons. They feared the trach was a size too big or they feared Kayleigh was having bleeding in her lungs that was coming up in to her tubes. They could not lay a finger on what the issue was, but chalked it up to be minor rubbing on her trach site or in her esophagus. This problem happened twice.

The second issue happened the other day when Kayleigh's Flolan central line backed up and she started to desat pretty low. They figured out the problem really quick and administered her Flolan through a syringe and it stopped the desaturation from happening. This goes to show that Kayleigh needs that Flolan or she could have a hypertensive episode that could cause her to fall apart quickly. The central line showed no issues and they started her back on the Flolan at the original site. There is only a 3-5 minute window if this central line in kinked or backed, which will then cause some serious pulmonary hypertensive episodes to kick in.

The third issue was when Kayleigh developed a fever that was sitting right around 100 for a full two days, but out of no where dropped back to a normal level. Her temperature has stayed in the same position all day yesterday and today, so we are happy to see whatever was causing that has gone away. It could have been from all the tests they were doing to see what was wrong with her belly issue. Too much poking and prodding can make me sick too.

The last issue which has surfaced again after 5 months is Kayleigh's hernia. She actually has two of them in her bottom area that need to be addressed before going home. They have decided to pass on the MRI for Kayleigh's eyes right now and do the procedure to fix these two hernias when they do the PEG procedure. We will find out later when the MRI is to be scheduled. The PEG is what they decided to do instead of the G-tube. There is not a whole lot of difference between the two except the PEG is less invasive.

So, with all the issues Kayleigh has had over the past few days, she has made another astonishing turnaround and gotten herself back on track. There is no more fever, no more desatting, no more trach bleeding and she is currently back up to full feeds. They have talked about doing the PEG procedure either at the end of this week or the beginning of next. This is such a great, quick turnaround for her and we are now breathing in a breath of fresh air. We spoke with a doctor today about getting her on the home equipment after she recovers from the procedure and bringing her home shortly after that. How awesome is that going to be??? WOO HOO!

Many of you asked about her head circumference and they did her measurements last night. Her head and belly are large, but they are proportionate for her size. If it is big, then that just means she is going to be smart or she is just bull-headed and we know for sure she is just that. She weighed in at 8lbs an 3oz and we are happy to announce that as of yesterday, Kayleigh is now 9 months old.

If you haven't noticed, I have added TheBlogFrog to Kayleigh's site for all of our Kayleigh Followers to become members. I decided to take down the blog scroll and put this up in it's place. It will allow all of those who have your own blogs to become a member and every time you come to Kayleigh's blog from your own personal blog, your blog link and blog name will appear for all the others to see. So, if you have not become a member of Kayleigh's BlogFrog community, sign up where the link says "Become a Member" over on the left toolbar. It is a great way to get your blog seen and story told from all the thousands of people who visit Kayleigh's Story each week.

Please continue to pray as Kayleigh is on the home stretch. Pray there are no more setbacks and all the procedures will go smooth so we can prepare to bring her home. What an amazing day that is going to be and I hope to celebrate with every single one of you through our posts and comments. You all have been such a wonderful support system for us and we can't thank you enough. We received over 65 bedtime stories and still have room for more if you want to write one. Just email me at Adam@TeamFreemanProperties.com

Thank you all so very much!

God Bless,

3/22/09 - Too Much Fun!










NOW FOR A LITTLE FUN :)

What is your favorite Hair-DO?


1) The Magnificent Comb-Over!



2) THE "Heeyya Baaaby" ELVIS?



3) The Miley's Dad - Mullet?



4) The EL-Natu-REL? (EL-Nat-Chew-Rel)



5) The Infamous UNI-Brow?



LOL, Kayleigh is going to kill us when she sees this later. Ya think? We were having too much fun! Kayleigh is doing good and wishes you all a wonderful weekend.

God Bless!

3/19/09 - Thoughtful Thursday


This has been on very exciting week for the Freeman family and we are happy to share our fourth "Thoughtful Thursdays" event with you. We will be doing this every week and we would love for everyone to join in and do something nice for someone out there.

Okay, here is how our "Thoughtful Thursdays" works.

You all are going to go out in to this crazy world and do something EXTRA nice for someone else. You can do something nice for someone you love, someone you don't love, or someone you you have never had the chance to love and come back here to share about it each and every Thursday.

God has shown Himself through Kayleigh and we need to glorify Him in all that we do. We need to touch other people with our kindness and spread the love of God with Kayleigh's story to everyone we possibly can. When you deliver your good deed to someone, let them know that they were touched by Kayleigh and share her website with them, so they too can join in on Kayleigh's journey and our "Thoughtful Thursdays" to glorify God.

This week, I want to spotlight Mrs. Carpenters class from Illinois. They have all gotten Kayleigh bracelets, made cards for Kayleigh and took photos for Kayleigh's scrap book. Every week, they've all decided to do something for Thoughtful Thursday and share it with us all. You can view Mrs. Carpenters class by CLICKING HERE to read their Thoughtful Thursday gestures. Below are some photos of Mrs. Carpenters class. Thank you all so much and we love and appreciate you tons!

















NOW...You you have got to think outside the box and come back and share it with us and the world. Be creative and make your stories stand out. You never know, your story may be in the spolight for ALL to see.

Here's how you get your link on our blog for "Thoughtful Thursdays"

Go to YOUR blog, create a new post for "Thoughtful Thursdays". Start by copying and pasting all the following HTML code at the beginning your post.(NOTE: Make sure you are in HTML mode or view when you paste in HTML code!):








Then, click the Mister Linky's Link DOWN BELOW for the form to enter the title of your BLOG (not your post, your blog), and the link to your blog, or the blog post, either one. (if you don't have a blog, feel free to leave a comment, but we would prefer you put up a post if you have a blog.)

That's it! You'll be linked in today's entry.

Can't wait to read your blog posts for "Thoughtful Thursdays"







God Bless,

3/17/09 - Happy St. Patricks Day!!!

Aimee and I hope that everyone had a wonderful St. Patricks Day today. We appreciate every single one of you for your love and support. We wish you ALL the very best and God Bless!













3/17/09 - Clock Starts Now (Again)





Today was a great day in the sense that it cleared up a lot of our questions. We spoke in the hall with the nurse practitioner and one of Kayleigh's neonatologist's. The ironic thing is, the doctor that is in the rotation is the same one who was in the delivery room when Kayleigh was born. She may be the same doctor who is able to send Kayleigh out of this hospital.

The first topic of conversation was her stomach issues. They are still running tests to determine if this is an infection of some sort that is causing her tummy to blow up again. The good news is Kayleigh is passing things through and the repogle tube is bringing air out of the stomach. The x-ray shows improvement, but they are not going to start her feeds back until she is cleared from any infections. They are leaning towards another urinary tract infection, but we won't jump to conclusions until the tests come back.

They won't do any surgery until this tummy issue is cleared up. The gastroenterologist are determining whether to do a G-tube or PEG. They are basically the same thing and serve the same purpose, but the PEG is less invasive when it comes to the procedure. The PEG is typically used when the Nissen procedure is not being done and it is surgically placed from the inside out instead of performing a larger incision with the G-tube. I have a feeling we are going to be doing the PEG, which we are 100% comfortable with.

So that lead us to the most important question of when will Kayleigh be able to go home. We were given a month about a week and a half ago, but since we have been put off for a week with all these reflux tests (Impedance, Barium Swallow and one other test), we still have a month left. If things going smoothly, it could be as little as three weeks. That is if nothing else comes up in between and pushes anything back. So the one month clock starts now, again!

So speaking of set backs, we all had a scare that turned out to be nothing at all. Kayleigh was in her bouncy seat today and when one of our primary nurse turned to look at her, she noticed some bright red blood in her trach tube. Kayleigh wasn't in pain, crying or showing any signs of respiratory issues, so it didn't worry anyone that Kayleigh's lungs were bleeding. She must have scratched something in her throat with the trach and it was sucked up through the tube. They are going to keep an eye on things in case this happens again, but until it shows signs of respiratory problems, they are not concerned.

So please continue to pray that things move in the right direction so Kayleigh can get out of there. I feel like the longer she stays, the more things pop up and start causing panic and stress amongst everyone. We do need her healthy, but being at home will reduce the amount of chance for infections or any other complications. We have heard a lot of stories on how children make a huge improvement once they get home, so we are praying that will be the case.

Thank you to all of those who have been a part of the Donation Giveaway. Aimee and I are truly blessed by everyone's generosity. Aubrey and Katie have done a wonderful job at putting the program together and we can't say enough wonderful things about them. Thank you so much to all the businesses who donated their items to help our family with this program too. The items are so awesome and we wish you all the very best. There is one week left and we are all excited to see who wins some of these amazing packages. Thank you all tons!!!

God Bless,