08/13/2026
I don’t know how many times I’ve started this post over the summer, knowing this day would be here before we knew it.
One year ago today, August 13th, our lives changed. And from there, it seemed like each day brought something new to get a hold on.
Chailei contracted Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), which led to HUS and stage 3 Acute kidney failure for weeks. She is now at stage 2. From there came seizures, encephalopathy, hallucinations, vision impairment, and so much more.
Multiple times a day, her prognosis would change. We never imagined something like this could happen to our child.
You hear about bacteria, Salmonella, E. coli… but when it happens to your own child, all those statistics and warnings suddenly become very real. Everyone kept asking, What did she eat? What did she get into? Where did it happen?
We can answer some of those questions. But in the end, Chailei was simply enjoying another day, expanding her faith and living her life.
A simple, fun-filled day changed everything.
She spent nearly five months of this past year away from home. Ninety days in Milwaukee—dialysis, plasmapheresis,intubation,sedation withdrawals, platelet transfusions, surgeries for PIC lines and arterial lines, NG and NJ tubes, eventually a G-tube, lumbar punctures, a suprapubic catheter, so many Foley and straight catheters that I lost count after 25 in one week, countless CTs and MRIs, evaluations, procedures, and the nightmare conversation we had in October… the list goes on.
The rest of her time was spent at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago, relearning things she had known since birth.
She had to relearn how to walk, stand, eat, write, dress herself, and become accustomed to touch, sounds, and lights—things most of us do every day without giving them a second thought.
Chailei is a miracle. A true example that the power of prayer WORKS.
The power of prayer can’t always be explained, but it can be experienced.
We can still have our struggles on a day to day basis with things that can come hard for her compared to how she was. Which she remembers being able to do easily. But during those trials is an overwhelming sense of power for her.
We are beyond proud of the strength she has shown and of the person she continues to become. She has shown us what determination, courage, and perseverance can look like in a way I never could have imagined.
From the very beginning, her case never seemed to follow the path of other children. In retrospect, I’ve learned that no two cases are ever exactly the same for STEC. But Chailei’s journey has also become part of something bigger.
Her story along with other childrens continue to help the small percentage who contract STEC and HUS. These children and their families are fighting alongside one another, even when they have never met, connected through their doctors, shared experiences, and the families who understand this journey in a way few others can.
We are forever grateful to be a part of Parker’s Promise. We are still connected with this incredible family and always will be. I truly don’t know how we would have gotten through some of those darkest days without them.
And to this day, I don’t feel like we have ever properly thanked everyone who has been there for us since day one.
To Chailei’s ER doctor at AMC, Dr. C, who looked at her CT results and told us we needed to get to Neenah Children’s PICU at 7:30 that morning on August 14th.
To Dr. A, who caught the terrifying drop in her platelets, BUN, and creatinine that Sunday morning—just before ending your shift—and told us we needed to be in Milwaukee within two hours.
To the dozens of doctors, nurses, CNAs, therapists, and every person at Children’s Wisconsin and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab who cared for Chailei and helped carry us through the hardest days of our lives.
There are so many faces, names, dates, and moments, even the alarms that will forever be embedded in my mind.
Thank you to our family.
Thank you to our closest friends who checked on us every single day, helped take care of things at home, and made sure life continued when we couldn’t think beyond the next hour.
Thank you to our beautiful church family, who reached out, prayed, loved us, and helped us in ways we never could have imagined.
Thank you to Andrew’s work family for the extra push we needed to bring her home safely.
And thank you to our small-town community of Polar Bears, who cheered Chailei on from afar and reminded us that she was never fighting alone.
I wish you all knew just how thankful we are.
This past year has shown us how deeply loved we are, how powerful prayer can be, and how many people can come together for one little girl.
Chailei has completed many chapters of her journey, but there are still many more to come.
And we will be here for every single one. ❤️
