Thank you for visiting the Kayla Jane Fund web site. This site has been set up to share Kayla's story, to help keep friends, family and community informed of Kayla's progress and to help raise funds for Kayla and her family as she continues her recovery.

Updates

November, 2009

To the Editor:

A successful fundraising dance was held on Saturday, November 14th at the St Lawrence Club to benefit the Kayla Jane Fund.  Kayla Jane Van Almkerk is a 16 year old junior at Ipswich High School who had two liver transplants in 2008 and spinal surgery this past summer.  Kayla has cystic fibrosis which contributed to her need for the surgeries.  She is doing well at this time and is looking forward to getting her drivers license this winter.  The Van Almkerk family wishes to thank all those who attended the Dance and those who donated their time to make the event a special evening. This is the second fundraiser that the Club has generously hosted.    

Another Friday Night once again provided outstanding music for the event.  Great food was donated by the Ipswich River General Store and Sonia Johnson.  Christopher Cerino made a cash donation which helped pay for some upfront dance operating costs and Windhill Reality made a decorating donation. 

Many other businesses and individuals made raffle/auction donations that were a big hit.  Tricia Van Almkerk donated 3 nights at the La Playa Beach and Golf Resort in Naples Florida. Gift bags were donated by Jungle Printing and Conley’s Drug Store.  Integrated Housing and Joe Cefalu separately donated Boston Bruin and Celtics tickets while Joanna and Mike Hoey again donated hard to get Boston Celtics tickets.  Additional donations were made by Anytime Fitness, Ipswich Shellfish Fish Market, Paws for Praise, The Stone Soup Café and the Mercury Brewing Company.

Special thanks go out to Jan Burgess, Sonia Johnson and Lauri Carlson for organizing the dance.  They and other volunteers worked hard to make the night a success.  Specific thanks go out to Sandy Lezon, Keith Carlson, Toni Riddle, Cathy Savoie, Erica Callahan, Eileen Petrocelli, Tom Burgess, Janice Colby and Jacqui Boch for running the raffle/auction table. 

Donations can be made through the Kayla Jane Fund Web site located at www.kaylajanefund.com or through FNBI, C/O Lauri Carlson, 31 Market St., Ipswich, MA 01938.  Donations are used to offset ongoing medical costs.

Paul, Janice and Kayla Jane Van Almkerk
Little Neck Road        Ipswich MA

Thanksgiving Day

November 27, 2008

As previously posted Kayla had a liver transplant on 8/28/08. She came home a week later but returned to the hospital after just two days. Kayla spent the next six weeks in the hospital. She came home on 10/21/08, a week after a second liver transplant. Kayla's first donor was her father's best friend from High School and although he also had a very tough post 8/28 surgery recovery he has been doing much better over the past month. He has been able to visit Kayla and her parents at their home, has returned to work and is planning a well deserved vacation to the Bahamas with his wife over the December holiday. His liver donation was truly "a bridge" to life for Kayla.

As of today Kayla is doing great. Medically she has made impressive strides. She has a fairly strict physical therapy regime in place and she will have follow up visits to the hospital. All of the medical personnel involved are positive about her recovery to date. Since coming home Kayla has been able to see friends, go to a couple of football games and eat as much food as she would like! She wasn't planning on returning to school until January but her progress has allowed her to begin school again. She has been going for partial days for several weeks now. Kayla will hopefully continue to maintain good health, get stronger and be able to return to school full time as of January 2, 2009.

Kayla's liver deterioration and transplants have been an incredible experience for Kayla and her parents, as well as for family and friends. While things are good today- the weeks between transplants were incredibly trying. `At times medical events were disheartening and just plain scary. Kayla qualified for the second liver only once her condition had deteriorated to the most serious state. As difficult as those weeks were for Kayla and for those close to her she and they never gave up. Kayla demonstrated repeatedly a "quiet strength" and a willingness to go through almost constant medical procedures. Kayla was determined to live and now she has a real chance.

Thanks goes out from Kayla and her parents to all of those whose thoughts and prayers were with Kayla throughout her ordeal.

Classmate gives liver to friend's daughter

By Jeffery Kurz , Record-Journal staff

September 28, 2008

MERIDEN - In the late 1960s, Paul Van Almkerk and Stephen Foell were part of a close circle of Meriden friends who went to Xavier High School in Middletown.

The two have remained close over the years, but nothing could have prepared them for the bond that exists now. In late August, Foell donated part of his liver in a transplant operation to save the life of Van Almkerk's daughter, Kayla, who has cystic fibrosis.

"The decision for me, it was actually the easiest decision in the world," Foell said.

"You have people like this in your life," he said. "To me, he was like family."

Today, Foell and Van Almkerk both live in Massachusetts, Foell in Dorchester and Van Almkerk in Ipswich. Both still have family in Meriden and return to the city regularly. Van Almkerk, who graduated from Xavier in 1969, says he still tries to make it to the football game between the high school rivals Maloney and Platt.

Both played football for Xavier, both were ends, and Van Almkerk recalls beating Maloney his senior year at a game played at Palmer Field in Middletown.

After high school, Foell served in the Army while Van Almkerk attended Northeastern University in Boston, graduating in 1974. Van Almkerk eventually earned a doctoral degree, in education, from the University of Cali-fornia. Today, he works as a consultant for mental health organizations.

Foell is a registered nurse who works for the state of Massachusetts as a consultant for people with cognitive disabilities.

For a time, the two were roommates, in Cambridge, when Foell was attending the University of Massachusetts and Almkerk was at Boston University.

"We were close, we always stayed connected," Foell said. Kayla, who is 15, was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when she was 18 months old. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease in which a genetic defect causes the body to produce thick mucus that clogs the lungs and obstructs the pancreas.

An estimated 30,000 Americans have cystic fibrosis. Fifty years ago, few children were expected to survive the disease. Today, those afflicted can live well into adulthood.

Neither Paul Van Almkerk nor his wife, Janice, had a family history of the disease, he said. Though Kayla's childhood has been full of struggle, she has managed to stay involved in typical youthful activities, including swimming, skiing, music and playing soccer.

"This is a kid who would have a few excuses to miss school, but she didn't," Van Almkerk said. "She very much wants to have a regular life."

When she was 11, Kayla underwent a splenectomy, and at that time Van Almkerk recalls doctors expressing concern about the condition of her liver. In February this year, the family was told she would need a liver trans-plant within six months.

"Kayla's lungs today are relatively healthy," Van Almkerk said. "The liver took the major hit."

In most liver transplants, the liver or liver tissue comes from a deceased donor. About 17,000 Americans are on a waiting list for a liver transplant, according to the American Liver Foundation.

"There's not enough cadaver donors coming in and consequently you have to be almost critically ill to be moved to the top of the list," Van Almkerk said.

The liver is the one body organ that can regenerate itself. In living donor transplants, both the donor's liver and the donated portion grow back to normal size. In both deceased and living donor transplants, blood type and body size are important in determining a proper match.

There were five friends along with Foell who volunteered to become donors for Kayla, said Van Almkerk. After the first was ruled out, Foell underwent a testing process that took four months.

"Each step of the way we would be elated, saying, OK, he got through that test, he got through that test," re-called Van Almkerk.

The operation took place Aug. 28. Kayla is now back at Massachusetts General Hospital, undergoing testing. Foell says his recovery runs "hot and cold," with a few hours a day when he feels energetic enough for activi-ties. Most of the time, he's tired while his body works hard to restore his liver.

"You're lethargic all the time, your body takes a lot of energy from you," he said. "It's working very hard." "It's a very difficult healing process for both," said Lauren McMahon, a spokeswoman for the American Liver Foundation. "The patient usually feels better immediately. The other person is in a lot more pain, because they didn't have any pain when they got in."

While he's satisfied, Foell says he's holding back on celebrating until five months down the road when he'll have a better view of Kayla's recovery. "I'd be walking on air," he said. "I'm still keeping my fingers crossed."

"It's hard to express your thanks," Van Almkerk said. "He didn't ever expect it from me, he never hesitated." And Van Almkerk said the generosity of his friends "has blown me away."

While the family has health insurance coverage, it has not been nearly enough to cover the expenses associated with Kayla's medical care. The Kayla Jane Fund Committee has set a goal of raising $150,000 by the fall of 2009. Van Alkerk says he's already grateful for the support shown in Ipswich.

More information about the fund is available on the Web, at www.KaylaJaneFund.com. Donations can also be sent to the Kayla Jane Fund at First National Bank of Ipswich, care of Lauri Carlson, 31 Market St., Ipswich, MA 01938.

September 21,2008

Kayla had a successful liver transplant on August 28, 2008; nearly four weeks ago at Massachusetts General Hospital . Her donor and close family friend is also doing well, he is home recuperating.

Kayla is out of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and recovering slowly on the Transplantation Unit. She continues to make progress in spite of some complications that have required her to remain in the hospital. She has a strong heart, will and an amazing spirit.

She has the cards you have sent hanging in her room.

Kayla thanks you all for your thoughts and prayers.