Because of this condition, she had to lie down on her tummy until her heart surgery where she had to lie down on her back so immediately after heart surgery, she had to get another surgery called tracheotomy where the doctors had to create an alternative airway in her neck so she could breathe through the neck instead of her mouth and nose. This tracheotomy led to another surgery to insert a gastric button (g-button) in her stomach so she will have to be fed through the stomach (through gastric tubes) and not through the mouth. All these meant that KK would need extensive medical care for a long time after discharge.

Let me add that I had just relocated from Nigeria to the USA with a 2-year-old daughter, without my husband with me and a major licensing exam already scheduled in October (less than 2 months after having KK). I was devastated, confused and lost, but God came through as only He can. KK spent 3 months in the hospital and was discharged home to me with assisted home health nursing. It was tough! She was permanently connected to an oximeter because she was at risk of having a breathing emergency and losing oxygen to the brain, I couldn’t hold her because of all the extensions, I couldn’t breastfeed her because she had to feed directly to the stomach, she had a reflux issue and threw up at least 3 times a day for over a year.