Kyomi was showered with gifts. The day of the family’s scheduled departure from the hospital the results of a final blood test came back. There was an abnormality with her kidneys. Only hours before they were scheduled to go home the doctor informed them that Kyomi would have to be admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. After being transferred to Devos Children’s Hospital and undergoing multiple tests, it was determined that Kyomi was born with Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease. This is a condition in which cysts form within the kidneys and will shut down the function of the kidneys.
For four months, Kyomi and her family went through a roller coaster of hopes and let downs. Time after time, Kyomi defied the doctor’s predictions and gave her family new reason to hope, until she finally succumbed to multiple organ system failure, sepsis, and kidney failure. She valiantly clung to life until her condition was such that the doctors had to inform her family that if allowed to go on, she would only suffer. So the family was forced to allow the machines to be turned off and watch as their precious angel slipped away. On January 7, 2005, Kyomi Linai Culpepper and her family lost a valiant fight. Though her life was short, she filled all of those blessed enough to know her with strength and hope. The family holds Kyomi in their hearts, dreams, and prayers forever and they will continue to find comfort in the fact that she will be a part of them forever.
It is in Kyomi’s memory and with her spirit that her family set out on a mission to help other families in distress. Our mission: Kyomi’s Gift is an outstretched hand that offers support and genuine caring to children and their families in their time of need. We have developed several goals that we are working towards to fulfill our mission.
- We will contribute financial support directly to suffering families to offset their mounting food and housing costs.
- We will purchase informational materials to educate families on the dynamics of “the illness”
- We will provide financial support to research facilities and programs in the hopes of finding cures for devastating childhood illnesses
- We will contribute to charitable organizations that support children and their families in times of need.
In order to fulfill these goals, we need your help. We are a non-profit organization and need all of the financial assistance we can get. We need help getting word out about who we are. Please join us in our goal to make a difference, one family at a time.
If you, or someone you know, are in need of our services, please contact Meghann Murphy at
(269) 838-6534 or Sue Murphy at (269) 945-4618 or email us at
kyomisgift@yahoo.com
Thank you for your support!
Click here to see what families’ Kyomi’s Gift has helped
|
