Story
Name
Kennadie Ellis
Injury/Illness
Rare Genetic Disease
Kennadie was a dream come true after 6 years of trying to get pregnant. We found out a week after my husband’s mother passed away that we were expecting. I did all the blood tests and they came back good, but further along we found out there was possibilities for some issues. We weren’t sure to what extent and neither were the doctors. I was diagnosed with preeclampsia early on in pregnancy and was taken out of work 3 months prior to my due date. I was scheduled to be induced at 37 weeks, but I was hospitalized in Duluth, MN due to complications where I was then transported to Minneapolis Children’s Hospital by ambulance. I was induced once I was stable as my blood pressure was elevated. I was not progressing and my health deteriorated with my oxygen dropping so I was taken right away to have a c-section. Kennadie was born 4 weeks early. She was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease where she is missing part of chromosome 6 and has an extra piece on chromosome 2. This has caused her to have brain, heart, and eyes issues. She has had a balloon procedure on her heart, she is scheduled to have a shunt in her brain, she will need a feeding tube, she has cataracts and glaucoma that will be assessed once she is able to visit the doctors at the University of Minnesota. She has been hospitalized since the day she was born 4/6/2022. We have been traveling between our home outside of Duluth and the Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, so we can be with her as much as possible. With me being out of work for almost 4 months now and my husband trying to balance between work and caring for myself and our daughter we are needing help paying our house payment.
