This story first appeared in the Dec. 9 issue of the Community Voice newspaper.
Glenn and Kaylee Frost were looking forward to the birth of their child when Covid-19 changed the course of their life, leaving the new mother fighting for her life.
The young couple who had everything going for them – good jobs, good home and a baby on the way – is now in the fight of their lives. Kaylee, who won a long battle with Covid-19, is in a hospital right now trying to recover from the damage the virus did to her lungs.
Glenn, who has spent practically every single minute by Kaylee’s side, said doctors believe since the damage to her lungs is so bad Kaylee may require a lung transplant.
“I do think a lot about how this doesn’t make sense,” Glenn said. “Doctors said the virus hit her harder than some people probably because she was pregnant. You wish things had turned out differently, but it is hard to say what we could have done differently. I do ask why a lot.”
The Frosts, Glenn, 30, Kaylee, 28, and Harlan, 3 1⁄2 months, live in Hodgenville.
Kaylee has several family members who live in Adair, including her mother, Sherry Phillips.
Glenn said Kaylee became ill from Covid- 19 around the middle of August. She was taken to the hospital and eventu- ally flown to Louisville because that’s where her baby’s doctor is located. That was on a Monday and, since her breathing was becoming labored more each day, Kaylee was put on a ventilator. Harlan was born on Friday.
“The protocol at most hospitals is you sedate Covid patients for three or four weeks,” Glenn said. “Kaylee did that for three weeks and then we started waking her up. She didn’t realize she had the baby, so we told her that and started showing her pictures.”
As more was discovered about her lungs, Kaylee was later moved to the University of Kentucky Hospital in November because the Lexington facility is considered by most in the medical field to be the top transplant location in the state.
“The doctors decid- ed to work her up for a transplant,” Glenn said. “Since then, we’ve been working on her mobility because the more we can get her to stand and walk, that gets her stronger for a transplant.”
Kaylee was the post- er child for a healthy woman, Glenn said. She worked hard every day, traveling back and forth between schools for her job as a therapist. She was pregnant but always took steps to make sure she took care of her and the baby’s health.
“She is on an Ecmo machine that acts like her lungs,” Glenn said. “That helps her stay oxygenated. Her lungs aren’t doing a whole lot. They’re just not working.”
Glenn’s focus now has been moved to getting Kaylee prepared for a transplant.
“She is a super strong person,” Glenn said about Kaylee. “All the nurses and doctors say she is a fighter. She’s driven and motivated and she wants to keep working so she can get home and be with Harlan.”
And the hard work does seem to be paying off. Glenn said Kaylee was able to stand for the first time a couple of days ago. And though she can’t speak right now, Kaylee and Glenn communicate through text, sign language and mouthing words.
“She will ask a lot about Harlan,” Glenn said. “She just wants to get everything done so she can get back to her normal life.”
Glenn said doctors talk to him about meeting goals, things like getting her numbers consistent, to improve every day in physical therapy and most of all, get on her feet and walking.
“We think she could be walking enough steps in three weeks to see about listing her for a transplant,” Glenn said.
And now for Glenn and baby Harlan, it is just a matter of waiting until mommy comes home, and for them, the sooner the better.
“I really want to hear her voice again,” Glenn said. “I am sure Kaylee misses being with Harlan, but she does get to watch videos of him on her phone. However, I know she wants to hold him, something she hasn’t been able to do yet.”
A Gofundme page titled, “Kaylee Frost – A Healthy Road Home,” has been established to help the family with medical bills. Cards can be sent to Kaylee at 26 Carson Lewis Rd., Columbia, Ky. 42728.
By Scott Wilson
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