Little Emily has a heart full of love and a playful spirit. She brings so much joy to those around her even though her life has been filled with many medical challenges.

While most children her age are eating simple meals, Emily is dependent on Total Parenteral Nutrition, also known as TPN.  Born 3 months prematurely, Emily cannot eat any foods by mouth because her body cannot digest the food that she needs. 

When Emily’s mom, Kerry Fleenor, adopted Emily at two months old, she quickly realized that her daughter not only had trouble with digestion, but that she had other health problems that might keep her from thriving. After spending countless hours with Emily at area hospitals and in the offices of multiple pediatric specialists, the family learned that Emily has several other complex health conditions that require extra time and care by her family.

Kerry’s daughter, Sam, suggested that her mom consider calling a palliative care service to help simplify and coordinate Emily’s care. As a registered nurse, Sam has seen, firsthand, the relief from physical and emotional stress that often comes along with palliative care services- not just for the child but for the family as well.

When Kerry decided to make the call to Carolina Caring, a local palliative care provider, she found out about a new program called Cardinal Kids, a community-based health care program dedicated to helping children and their families face the challenges that arise with complex medical conditions.

When Dr. Brooke Hata, Carolina Caring’s Vice President of Pediatric Physician Services, and registered nurse, Dannelle Hester, met Emily, they were immediately convinced that she could benefit from the Cardinal Kids Program.

“I was scared to call Cardinal Kids at first” says Kerry. “It felt like saying my child was not going to survive, but after we began working with Dr. Hata and Dannelle I felt like I had the power to be a voice and an advocate for Emily.”

For Kerry and other parents who have children who are medically fragile and complex, the Cardinal Kids program can help to address those problems in the most manageable ways, by providing home visits and 24/7 on call support when parents are unsure what steps to take to help their children feel better.

Emily’s family credits the Cardinal Kids Program with helping them be able to take a fun family trip to Ocean Isle this summer. It’s the first time that the entire family has been able to take a vacation with Emily due to her medical needs. This year was different thanks to the Cardinal Kids team’s ability to help coordinate medical care and local resources for Emily so that she could enjoy time with her family at the beach.

Cardinal Kids offers help to children between birth and young adult throughout Alexander, Burke, Catawba, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg and Rowan counties who are suffering from serious illness. For more information, please call 828.466.0466.