This is for families that deal with the struggles
of having to be in the hospital for an extended period of time.
In September 2004, our beautiful daughter Kylie was born. Five months later, our world was turned upside down. Our baby girl started having seizures and was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease. During the first three years of her life, we spent countless days in the hospital, watching as Kylie suffered from thousands of seizures and was subjected to many tests and procedures. There was nothing we could do. We learned the hard way: living in the hospital with a sick child is very expensive. Not only because of loss of income from missed work but also due to the added expenses for meals eaten out, parking, gas, etc. We were lucky- we had many people who cared about us, who donated money and wanted to help us in any way they could. They helped us to stay afloat, giving us the ability to keep our home and pay our bills. We were deeply humbled by any help that we were given.
Currently, Kylie is doing better. Although she will never be cured and will face a lifetime of difficulty, we are managing. It is our deepest desire to pay it forward. For the past 7 years, we have been raising money under the name Kylie’s Hope, a 501 C3 foundation. We started the foundation to help people facing financial hardship, due to their child’s hospitalization. For each family, we provide a monetary donation in the form of a Visa gift card. This allows parents to pay bills, pay for lodging or gas or even to get out for a “date-night”. We also provide gifts for the child, each sibling and items for the parents, which help make their stay more bearable. We are also funding the Lobby Area lounge, located in the new Pediatric Neurology Unit, at St. Paul Children’s Hospital. This room provides an area for the parents and families to catch up on email, to make calls to update loved ones or just to take a few moments of peace and quiet. We are honored that this room will be named the Sponsored by Kylie’s Hope. For the past 14 years, the Kylie’s Hope Charity Golf tournament has raised over $125,000. We want to increase this amount and we are looking to increase the number of corporate sponsorships for the tournament.