Southern Hospitality/Human Hospitality

The kindness we are expereincing both inside and outside of this hospital (our universe) is infectious.
So while we're having just a bit of a quiet day with Killian, waiting to see how he responds to being weened from the osicillator, we wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the other amazing things people have done for our little family unit over the past 18 days.

Please forgive me (Aunt Layna) if I've missed anything! There has almost been too much to keep track of!

• Tim and Diane Lambert (Lindsey's Aunt and Uncle in Kansas) sent beautiful flowers the day after Killian was born and served as a joyful reminder that this was time to celebrate, not be fearful!
• Haley and Jeremy Armstrong have supported Lindsey the whole way. In addition to sending an adorable blanket/bear for Killian, Jeremy actually gave Lindsey a job at Backyard Burger when she was pregnant. She was sick often and he allowed her to work only when she could (sometimes only hours a week). Amazing!
• Linda Crawford is Killian's Brand Manager :). She is a co-worker of Grandma Val's and made all the ladies in Killian's life matching bracelets and the sign on his room. She gave us all sparkly angels to keep at our desks when we can't be here to remind us of him. And she is the one who picked me up to at the airport and drove like a bat out of hell to get me here in time for Killian's repair surgery!
• Aretha Whitaker, my new sister and Valarie's co-worker, has been one of our spiritual liasons. Aretha attends a HUGE church here in Nashville and has made sure that the might of Mt. Zion Baptist Church is behind us. She is also our Popeyes Chicken and Biscuit provider :)! Thanks for the 1500 calorie dinner!
• The Military Department of Tennessee sent our family a huge Edible Arrangements that lasted about 5 minutes in the waiting room.
• Diane Pryor of TEMA, another co-worker of Grandma Val's, brought the family CPK (Caliornia Pizza Kitchen) one night for dinner and has been up here to see us several times. We love us some Diane!
• Christy & Ricky Hensley have stopped by several times to visit and have been in constant prayer for us.  
• Melisa Hucks, another co-worker of Val's bought us Chineese food for lunch today! It was deeeelicious! And I'm told...calorie free.
• Lauren Thomas of Ft. Lauderdale, a dear friend of Layna's, gave Lindsey a $50 gas card to "fuel up the mama express" :).
• Liz Wolfe, a beautiful, funny, successful friend of Layna's (and VERY witty Paleo/health blogger) has graciously set this very blog up and helps us manage all donations that have come in. This is a lifeline that we know you all appreciate. Way to go Lizzie!
• To every doctor, nurse, waiting room attendee in this hospital, God bless you.
• To the friends we have in Neodesha, KS who are calling, praying and lifting us up...we love you.
• To anyone who is checking our mail, watching our dogs, looking in on our houses, you ROCK!
• To our family, ALL OF YOU, who have taken time off work, cried with us, prayed with us, called, driven miles to be here (I'm talking to you Ashley Haggard) made countless meals (I'm talking to you Barry Welch), words fall short of describing how much we love and appreciate you.
• To all of our bosses and coworkers at TEMA, Cobalt Boats, Neodesha School System, Homestead Nursing & Rehab Center and BGT Partners...we hope you know that we couldn't be here without you. You have blown us away with your support by picking up the slack, scooping up extra responsibilities and generously allowing us to take the days off work to be together in this difficult time.
• To anyone who has stopped by the hospital to give us hugs, bring us snacks, sent food, made a donation or to say a prayer...we are so grateful.

Lastly and most importantly, to anyone who has taken even a second to pray or send good vibes our way, we KNOW you are making a difference, so keep it up. Times are hard, and you have responsibilites so please know that your prayers/positivity are more than enough for us.

Here is a message directly from Lindsey, Killian's mama, herself (she's obviously too busy not leaving his side to chronical all this like me):

I can't begin to explain how grateful I am for all of the prayers, thoughts, gifts, love, and support from all of you that have sent it. As badly as I want to pay it forward right now, I know that God will open a perfect window of time when it's right. But for now thank you from the very depths of my soul.


Killian has been fighting - like a champion! - for his life since he was born. Because Killian's family is so spectacular; their friends decided to create this website in their honor to help in any way possible.

Any donation you're able to make will help this sweet baby boy - from getting his family to & from the hospital to helping with Killian's care. From all of us who love Killian and his family, thank you!

All donations go directly to Killian's care and the care of his family. The paypal donation account was set up by a friend, Liz Wolfe, whose name and email appears on the PayPal page. Liz manages all donations with the support and oversight of Killian's aunt, Layna Lambert Dugan.

More about CDH from CHD Support:

CDH occurs when the diaphragm fails to fully form, allowing abdominal organs into the chest cavity and preventing lung growth. CDH occurs in 1 of every 2500 births; somewhere in the world, a baby is born with CDH every 10 minutes. 50% of babies diagnosed with CDH do not survive. The cause is not known. Over a half million babies have been born with CDH since 2000. CDH is as common as Spina Bifida and Cystic Fibrosis but there is very little awareness and even less research.