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Kaylen
On September 27, 2000, God blessed us with the birth of our little girl, Kaylen Grace Horner. She has full Trisomy 18 and we were told she would not live long. We wanted to make sure our little girl was given every chance of survival. Bottle feeding was very difficult, but she began gaining weight very slowly. She had a successful pylorimyotomy at 2 1/2 months and heart surgery at 6 months. We have been blessed with doctors, nurses and therapists who are willing to help Kaylen develop and reach her full potential.
Kaylen's development is very delayed across all areas, and each milestone she reaches is cause for celebration. She uses a sippie cup independently. She has recently learned how to drink from a straw. She can pull herself up to a sitting position from lying on her back. She grasps and plays with her toys. Kaylen is very social--her favorite thing to play with is other people's hands. She smiles and laughs easily. She was irritable when she was very young (partially due to severe reflux), but she is now generally very content. Although she does not talk, Kaylen vocalizes often, "sings" for us and definitely communicates her likes and dislikes. Kaylen is the oldest of our three children and readily engages with her siblings (Lathan,4 and Maysen,3)--and lets us know when she's had enough of them, also! Our biggest struggles now are making sure she is eating enough and working with the neurologist to get her seizures completely under control.
Despite how difficult things have been at times, Kaylen brings tremendous joy to our family. Our other children love it when they make Kaylen laugh, or when they can sing her a song and she stops crying. They adore their big sister and include her in their rough-housing, play and, yes, even fussing with each other. She gets tired of them trying to feed her like a baby and refuses to let go of toys when they want her to! However, she is always happy when they shower her with hugs and kisses. She has taught all of us so many things--patience, gratitude, acceptance and where our true peace is found. We are so proud to be her parents and are excited to see how she will continue to progress in the future! We thank God for the favor He has shown us and our faith and hope have been and will continue to be in Him.
Mike & Angela Horner
Kaylen's development is very delayed across all areas, and each milestone she reaches is cause for celebration. She uses a sippie cup independently. She has recently learned how to drink from a straw. She can pull herself up to a sitting position from lying on her back. She grasps and plays with her toys. Kaylen is very social--her favorite thing to play with is other people's hands. She smiles and laughs easily. She was irritable when she was very young (partially due to severe reflux), but she is now generally very content. Although she does not talk, Kaylen vocalizes often, "sings" for us and definitely communicates her likes and dislikes. Kaylen is the oldest of our three children and readily engages with her siblings (Lathan,4 and Maysen,3)--and lets us know when she's had enough of them, also! Our biggest struggles now are making sure she is eating enough and working with the neurologist to get her seizures completely under control.
Despite how difficult things have been at times, Kaylen brings tremendous joy to our family. Our other children love it when they make Kaylen laugh, or when they can sing her a song and she stops crying. They adore their big sister and include her in their rough-housing, play and, yes, even fussing with each other. She gets tired of them trying to feed her like a baby and refuses to let go of toys when they want her to! However, she is always happy when they shower her with hugs and kisses. She has taught all of us so many things--patience, gratitude, acceptance and where our true peace is found. We are so proud to be her parents and are excited to see how she will continue to progress in the future! We thank God for the favor He has shown us and our faith and hope have been and will continue to be in Him.
Mike & Angela Horner
