Cailinn Maureen Lynch -- 18 months old and going strong!

One of my favorite Hales Corners people is Kelly Lynch. This young mother has remained cheerful, loving, and positive no matter what hurdles life puts in her way. The joy of her life – and that of her husband Brian – is their daughter, Cailinn Maureen Lynch, who was born May 8, 2008.  

In her blog, sponsored by “Caring Bridge,” Kelly posts updates for family and friends who follow Cailinn’s progress – and her challenges. In Kelly’s words, “Soon after Cailinn was born, the doctors realized that something wasn't quite right. They took a blood sample to run a genetic test and found that Cailinn had an extremely rare genetic condition. She has an Unbalanced Translocation of her #5 and #9 chromosomes. She is the 4th documented case of this specific translocation (in the world!). Because it is so rare, there isn't a lot of information available to help determine what the future holds. So with this, our adventure began. What we do know is that she has an ASD and a VSD, which are the 2 holes in her heart, and she will some day need to have corrective surgery. We also know that due to the genetic condition, she has smaller facial features, which inhibit her ability to sucessfully take a bottle and also require her to be on oxygen. Despite all of her challenges, she exhibites a fighting spirit and an ever growing personality. Her smile brings joy to everyone she encounters and we look forward to watching our little peanut grow.”

 Well! Cailinn is now one and one-half years old, and she continues to amaze her parents and everyone else who knows her – including the staff at Children’s Hospital. Kelly is such a fan of Children’s Hospital that two months ago she organized a team for the Al’s and Briggs Walk/Run and raised $1300 for the hospital.

 Here’s an excerpt from Kelly’s recent entry: 

“Hello Cailinn Fans! I know it's been a while since the last update, but I will try to keep it short. The last update was just before the Brigg's & Al's Walk. It was very cold, but there was still a huge turn out. Thank you to everyone who supported Cailinn's Crusaders. We were able to raise just over $1300!! Watch for information regarding next year’s walk. . . .

“Cailinn was invited back to participate in Partners For Progress' Short Term Intensive Therapy. This took place the last week of October. She did FANTASTIC!! Wow, that kid never stops amazing me. I also have to give credit to the wonderful therapist that we worked with. Thank you Leslie!! They worked really hard with Cailinn, helping her to get herself into a sitting position, crawling, and getting up to standing. They also worked on feeding and speech. Cailinn is eating more and more, and getting pretty good at it. She is also starting to make more sounds and different sounds. She is even saying Mom now and Hi.

“Cailinn has started sitting up all on her own since this past weekend. She is not getting up the way that we have been trying to teach her, but instead has figured out her own way of doing things (what else is new??). At least she can sit up on her own now. Next step is getting her to crawl and walk. She already is rolling all over the house!! Which means that she is getting into everything possible. There is no way to completely baby proof a house, but we are doing our best.

“Nov. 12th marked the 1 year anniversary of Cailinn coming home from Children's Hospital. I can't believe it's already (and at the same time only) been a year. Cailinn goes in this Wednesday for her bronchoscopy. We are anxiously awaiting the results as that will determine when we can get rid of the trach. Please keep Cailinn in your prayers! And we will keep you posted with how things go.   Also, watch for updated Cailinn pictures coming soon!   As always, thanks for checking in on us.”

On the Caring Bridge website, I see that the total number of website visits from family and friends total 4,236. If you would like to follow Cailinn’s story, go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/cailinnlynch