By Leigh Ann Rutledge
Accent Editor
August 19, 2008
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| HIGH FLYERS. Kendra Rea (above left), Alan Miller holding K’dyn Rea and Kristin Rea are shown in front of Miller’s airplane before leaving for Michigan. Miller offered his piloting services and Carrollton Rotary paid for the fuel to fly the Rea family to Michigan to see K’dyn’s great grandparents and other relatives. |
K’dyn Rea has started earning frequent flyer miles at the young age of two months, thanks to an area pilot.
K’dyn is the son of Kendra Rea and grandson of Kristin and Ken Rea, all of 2016 Jasmine Rd., Carrollton. K’dyn was born April 30, 2008, and suffers from bilateral schizencephaly with porencephalic cysts complicated by hydrocephalus, or swelling or the brain.
This extremely rare brain malfunction is characterized by abnormal slits or clefts in the cerebral hemispheres of the brain. K’dyn has had four surgeries, one to remove the swollen spot, one to place the shunt and two involved fixing and moving the shunt to readjust the draining. These were all done before he turned one month old.
K’dyn’s great grandparents made the trip down from Michigan to see him when he was born. Because their schedule only allowed them to stay overnight, they were unable to hold him due to his being in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Doctors gave the family the prognosis of K’dyn surviving two months. When he came home, he received visits three times a week from Hospice of Carroll County volunteers. It was during one of these earlier visits, his nurse, Linda, told the family he was not doing well. Grandmother Kristin remarked they wanted to try to get K’dyn to Michigan to meet the family. (The Rea family moved from Michigan and has resided in Carroll County for the last 15 years.) Kristin said, “We wanted to go to Michigan so his great grandparents and the rest of the family could see him but with gas prices, we just couldn’t afford it.”
K’dyn’s social worker went to work trying to obtain gas cards for the family and asked the Carrollton Rotary Club for help. The Rea family’s request was presented at a regular Rotary meeting and Rotary members decided they would provide the gas for the family to go to Michigan. Carrollton pilot and businessman Alan Miller volunteered to fly the family to Michigan for a visit and fly back up to bring them home. Rotary covered Miller’s fuel costs.
Hospice contacted K’dyn’s doctors to be sure he was allowed to fly in the small plane and received approval for him to travel. Miller contacted the Rea family on Tuesday and the family flew out the following Thursday morning. K’dyn slept during the entire 1-1/2 hour flight, both to and from Michigan.
Kristin said, “We stayed for 10 days, saw a lot of family members we hadn’t seen in a long time.” The three generations gathered at the airstrip when it was time to fly back to Ohio and Miller admitted it was very emotional, not only for the family but also for Miller himself.
Miller volunteers his piloting services to three volunteer organizations but commented, “This is one trip that hit my heart the hardest and was the most fulfilling to me personally.” Kendra had been an aide at the Carroll Healthcare Center and the current dietary manager is related to the Rea family. Miller tells volunteering his time in these types of situations “gives him a sense of satisfaction.” He said, “We wanted to make things easier for the family and when there is a baby involved, it was better to make the short flight than for them to drive eight hours.”
A Spaghetti Dinner Benefit is scheduled for Sept. 6 from 12-6 p.m. at the Carrollton Eagles on Brenner Rd. The dinner is by donation only and a 50/50 drawing will be held. Proceeds will go toward medical expenses. The event is open to the public. For more information or to make a donation, contact the Eagles at 330-627-2185.
K’dyn is doing well, doesn’t require a feeding tube any longer, takes only one medication to control seizures and receives only one visit per week from Hospice. Kendra said, “He is a great baby. He doesn’t cry very much and is very content.” He wears a breathing monitor at night and Kendra laughs explaining, “We think he likes to set the monitor off just to wake everyone up!” Mom and Grandma both say, “He is a fighter, a real trooper. He has plenty of angels watching out for him.”
Kristin returned to work full time at the Golden Age Retreat. She said, “I want to thank the county home staff and employees for helping our family through this first couple of months. And thank you to my co-workers who donated their sick time so I could be with K’dyn.”
Miller said, “I know the family and Hospice truly appreciate what the Rotary offered. The family gave my copilot and myself a ‘thank you’ basket of homemade cookies and breads, which I never received before.”
Kendra and Kristin agree that living in a small town was one of the reasons they were able to get assistance to go to Michigan.
Kristin said, “It’s very giving for someone to offer services like this. We can thank everyone who helped till we are blue in the face and it still wouldn’t be enough.”
Miller stated, “I enjoyed the trip. It was a trip I will never forget.” Neither will the members of the Rea family. |
