Baby Kayden Artelle. (Photo courtesy of Bob Artelle via Go Fund Me.)Baby Kayden Artelle. (Photo courtesy of Bob Artelle via Go Fund Me.)
Chatham

Local Family Tries To Make Ends Meet With Sick Child

When baby Kayden was born a month too early in November, his parents never imagined they'd still be in the hospital.

Kayden was born with narrow airways, making every breath a challenge and feeding him even more difficult. His dad, Bob Artelle, tells BlackburnNews.com, every so often, Kayden will go ten-to-30 seconds without breathing.

So far in his short life, Kayden has had two surgeries to widen his upper airway and insert a gastro tube in his stomach.

But what's worse, Artelle says, is that doctors don't know what's wrong.

Artelle says he had no choice but to temporarily leave his job in Chatham to be with his son full time in hospitals in Windsor and London, ultimately leaving his family in the red.

"After he was born, we pretty much moved into the Ronald McDonald House," he says. "One month turned into two and now two is turning into three, and three - from the doctor's point of view - might be turning into four or more."

Artelle says the family is currently waiting for their Employment Insurance Benefits for Parents of Critically Ill Children to kick in, so they've started a Go Fund Me page to keep them afloat in the interim.

In just a few days, the online account has raised over $2,000. Artelle is grateful.

"I never thought for a second that the finances would get so tight. Basically we're trying to run two different lives. One back at home with our house, our two cars and all that stuff, but all that money will go towards just as if I was working full time," says Artelle, adding they're juggling all this while trying to normalize life for their daughter, who's two-and-a-half.

The decision was made this week to transfer Kayden to Sick Kids in Toronto. Again the family is in limbo, because Artelle says they don't know how long they'll be there.

"At the beginning it was like 'oh you know, give it about two weeks,' and then all of a sudden after those couple of weeks, they needed another month, and now it's 'oh no, we really don't know what to tell you,'" says Artelle.

The Artelle's are hoping to raise $4,500.

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