Meet Kayne

Kayne is a happy, energetic, fun-loving kid.

He likes sports, building, and climbing. When you see his big smile and hear his laugh, it’s hard to imagine how sick he really is. Kayne has Chronic Granulomatous Disease, a rare genetic disorder. Kayne’s mother has the gene, and it was passed to her by her mother. There was a fifty-fifty chance that Kayne would inherit the gene. And he did.

“Kayne started showing the signs at about one year old,” Kayne’s mom says. He grew pale. His blood hemoglobin (red blood cell) levels dropped. And he got pneumonia – a severe case in both lungs.

When Kayne was just two years old, he developed a cyst on his leg. It’s one of the many complications from his disease that Kayne and his mom have had to deal with. For the next couple of years, Kayne was in and out of the hospital for all kinds of problems. Often it was because his temperature would shoot up, and he would burn up with fever. But then, Kayne’s condition seemed to settle down a bit. So, Kayne’s mom made the exciting decision to enroll him in kindergarten. He loved it. But before long, he developed a chest infection.

“It was really bad,” Kayne’s mom says. The infection spread and Kayne went back into the hospital. He had to have a medical port implanted under his skin. He began getting a variety of medicines.

After about a month, he was released from the hospital but was still receiving care. “He was feeling dizzy and having heart palpitations,” recalls Kayne’s mom. “He had pneumonia and a fungal infection too.” It’s been so tough on Kayne and his mom. “Kayne has been on medication since he was two weeks old,” she says. Finally, Kayne had stem cell transplant surgery. It went well – a glimmer of hope after years of treatments, doctors, and hospitals. I think you’ll agree — if anyone deserves his dream to come true, it’s Kayne.

“I can’t take him to the park, a child with a chronic granulomatous disease can’t fight the bacteria that gets on them. A play set in the backyard would get all that energy out for him and get him outside safely.”

Pictured: Dream Kid Kayne receiving treatment. — **Pictured**: Dream Kid Kayne receiving treatment.

Kayne’s Dream

Kayne was never able to play like the other kids. Driving to and from doctor’s appointments, he always looked longingly at the park as he passed by. He wanted to go there. He wanted to run and play like the other kids.

“I can't take him to the park, a child with a chronic granulomatous disease can't fight the bacteria that gets on them. A play set in the backyard would get all that energy out for him and get him outside safely.”

So that became Kayne’s dream – to have a playground of his very own. But not just any playground. A very special one, with a tunnel slide. In fact, Kayne is so sure of what he wants that he made a drawing of it, below!

Pictured: Kayne’s plan for his dream play structure!

“He’s so hooked on the thought of that,” Kayne’s mom says, laughing. Then, sadness. “He’s been through so much,” she says, her voice breaking. “He and I have had so many cries together. I told him, ‘If I could give that to you…’”

With all that Kayne’s been through, he’s ready to dream; to see a life beyond his illness. Especially now. Because of COVID-19 and the threat it poses, he and his family are spending most of their time at home. That’s why this playground — complete with a tunnel slide — is so important.

With your help, Kayne will have the playground of his dreams in his very own backyard!

Kayne’s Dream Update

Thanks to your support, Kayne’s Dream Playhouse became a reality!

We want to thank everyone who supported Kayne’s Dream. Your kindness made this dream come true! And a big thank you to our incredible building crew from Princess Auto - this dedicated team spent all day with us to build this unbelievable 3-level play structure.