Kaitlyn was born with the right side of her heart missing. This condition is deadly, but Kaitlyn beat the odds and survived open heart surgery at just 12 hours old. This bought her some time to be moved from Wisconsin to Colorado to wait for a heart transplant. 

She had a transplant at eight weeks old. She did great for four years until her body rejected the heart. Again, she had to leave her family behind in Wisconsin and move to Colorado to be re-listed for another heart.  After waiting 8 months, she was matched with a new heart, she had her second transplant and she spent most of 2002 in the hospital -- a long way from home.

Today, Kaitlyn lets nothing stop her.  She loves photography and is currently photo-journaling her life.  She has a great desire to help animals in shelters and has been an advocate for Vest-A-Dog.  She arranged a fundraiser where she photographed people's pets and earned over $170 toward the cost of a bullet proof vest for a police K-9.

Kaitlyn is very musical.  She plays electric and acoustic guitar and writes music.

For email and snail mail addresses, personal web site URL, medical fund information, and a current list of interests and hobbies, visit our "Kids List" page.

For CURRENT UPDATES visit our updates page.