I'd like to introduce you to Kayla.
Kayla is a sweet, loving 17 year-old high school senior in the Seattle, WA area who has been dealing with Cystic Fibrosis her entire life. My daughter, Liesl, is the nanny for Kayla's little cousin, Liam. Liam absolutely adores Kayla, and he loves to spend time with her whenever possible. This is a picture of Liam with Kayla. You can see how happy he is just to be with her.
Liesl got to know Kayla through taking care of Liam, and she has told me how wonderful Kayla is. While Kayla's body is weak, her spirit is amazingly strong. She has not let her disease interfere with her very active life, nor has she let it get her down. She is very positive and has great hopes and plans for her future.
Last year, Kayla's family learned that she is in need of a double lung transplant within the next two years to save her life. She was put on the donor list last September. While insurance will cover the majority of the costs of the surgery, the out-of-pocket expenses to Kayla's family are expected to be as much as $130,000. That's a lot of money, particularly with the economy the way it is today.
The Children's Organ Transplant Organization (COTA), a not for profit national charity dedicated to helping families with their transplant-related expenses, has set up an account for funds raised in honor of Kayla. 100% of the funds raised for Kayla with go toward her transplant-related expenses.
Kayla's family and friends have joined together to help raise the money for her surgery. Liesl and her husband, Curtis, have also joined in this effort. While this seemed like an overwhelming task, they have successfully raised over $80,000 in the last six months! Isn't that fabulous? They have been having all kinds of events in the Seattle area to raise funds, and they have been advertising everywhere possible to make people aware of this sweet girl and her need for this transplant. In fact, they are having a huge rummage sale this coming Saturday in Mukilteo, WA to try to raise additional funds. This is a poster that has the details about the rummage sale.
Now I know that many of you may not be close enough geographically to attend the rummage sale or any of the other events that will be held for Kayla. If you are, however, I would hope that you would attend and help in any way possible. They are still accepting donations of items to be sold, and helping hands are always needed at any of the events for Kayla. If you are like me and NOT close enough to attend, there are other ways that you can help. You can read more about Kayla and learn about other ways that you can help to save a life here:
