I ride to give care and hope to Children’s Hospital Colorado kids. I hope you can donate, in ANY amount, to support Children's Hospital Colorado so kids and their families will continue to get world-class care. Please take a moment to learn more about Lakyn and her family.
Lakyn was diagnosed with Ventricular Septal Defect and 22q during our 20-week anatomy scan. The news of her diagnosis was hard to comprehend. 22q is a genetic condition which caused her heart defect. It was a spontaneous, 1 in 4,000 chance Lakyn ended up with 22q. The next couple of weeks we met with her pediatric cardiologist, NICU team, and genetic counselor. We became experts very quickly on Lakyn's heart defect. Then, very unexpectedly, Lakyn came early. She was born prematurely at 29 weeks. We took a quick helicopter ride to Denver where she was born weighing 3 pounds and 6 ounces. Lakyn spent the next few weeks celebrating little milestones growing bigger for open heart surgery. As Lakyn got bigger, we noticed she was having a hard time breathing and her oxygen levels would drop rapidly. After undergoing tests, we learned Lakyn's heart was in worse shape than originally thought. We also learned she had a lung defect. Lakyn was now needing a heart and lung transplant; surgery was not an option. This was an impossible task. Lakyn passed away after 45 blessed days in the 4D NICU. In her short time, she taught us more about life, love, and faith. We feel lucky to be her parents and we think of her in everything that we do. The Lakyn's Legacy Foundation was founded in her memory.
