Kelly & Kim Kettler family  - A gift from above

After trying for over 7 years, Kelly and Kim Kettler got pregnant in November of 2000. The couple nearly lost their baby boy two different times, and when the placenta separated from the uterine wall they had no other choice but to deliver him by emergency caesarean section on May 16, 2001. Thirteen weeks premature, baby Kelby weighed only 1 pound and 3 ounces. After spending over 14 weeks in the hospital, Kelby was finally allowed to come home and be with his family. However, he had to be hooked up to oxygen and a heart and respiration monitor.

Eight months later, Kelby was diagnosed with a seizure disorder, and the following month he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and taken off the oxygen and monitor. One month later, the doctors told the Kettler family that Kelby also had cordial vision impairment, and he was declared legally blind. The couple was devastated.

“I remember praying that if God would just let me keep Kelby I would take good care of him and make sure he was always happy,” Kim said.

As if all of Kelby’s health problems weren’t enough for the family of three, Kim was diagnosed with breast cancer during this time as well. She had surgery to remove the mass and began chemotherapy and radiation in July 2002.

Kelby has had ten surgeries already in his eight years of life, and more are likely to come.

“We have had a lot of ups and downs over the years,” said Kim. “Kelby gets sick very, very easy and has spent a lot of time in the hospital.”

How a family endures all these hardships and continues to find hope in each day is inspirational. The Kettler family deserves a home of their own, and they deserve to have one less thing on their plate so they can focus on the things that matters most.

“I have always believed that you are only given what you can handle,” said Kim. “God gave us Kelby as a gift and that is what he is. He is the reason I get up every day.”

The community of Tipton has come together to help build the Dave Stephens Memorial Build – a home dedicated to honoring the late Dave Stephens, a long-time banker and community booster in Tipton. And not only has the community come together to remember Dave, but they have come together to give Kelby a better life and provide him with what he deserves – a home that he can fully enjoy and one that is handicap-accessible to fit his lifestyle.

“Getting this house is helping me to keep that promise [that I made to God], because now Kelby will have a place that will help him excel,” said Kim. “No child should have to go through what he has, he is one remarkable kid…He deserves great things and we try our best to give them to him.”

Support this family into a home of their own!

Make a gift of support and select "Dave Stephens Memorial Build" under the Program Designation drop-down box.