The roller coas
ter ride that has characterized so much the life of seven-month-old Kinsley Zondervan, daughter of Steeby Elementary teacher Kristiana and Wayland Board of Education member Pete Zondervan, has taken a quick and welcome swing upward.
Kinsley, who only a week ago seemed to be clinging to life after a second open heart surgical procedure, has improved greatly, as shown by this picture, and she has come home from Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
Kristiana posted on Facebook this evening, “What a difference just a few days can make! We’ve had a busy couple days. The fluid in Kinsley’s lungs is gone and her pacemaker wires came out with no issues… An echo showed there is still a leak in the patch that was used to cover the VSD. But scar tissue should cover it in six to twelve months.
“We also were just informed that a certain machine that was used to perform her first open heart surgery tested positive for a certain bacteria that has shown to cause infections in the heart. We have to keep an eye out for the next three years of possible signs of this happening (it can harbor in the body for that long), but I’m told the chances are small.
“I think Kinsley has some sort of PTSD symptoms going on. She’s skittish, super clingy and extremely scared of being left alone. It’s very difficult to get her to sleep and the tiniest noise startles her. But the sun is shining for the first time in a long while which symbolizes our today — she came home! While Kinsley will never be cured of heart disease and we will never be able to walk away from all of this, her heart is mended, functionable and she is alive! She has a lot of healing yet to do, but by the grace of God we have our baby home!
“I want to thank each single one of you for the prayers, donations (which has left me amazed, humbled and speechless!), cards and comments. It’s true what they say — it takes a village to help raise a child. *You guys are my village.”
