Loss moves couple to focus on others
By BONNIE BURCH, Staff Writer
FRANKLIN — For the Burrs, the past two years have been a series of tremendous ups and crashing downs as the Franklin family has come to terms with recent events that shaped their lives.
Two births, the death of a child, medical procedures and the organization of a fund-raising foundation have been the major challenges the couple has faced.
But they have the memory of their lost little girl and the joyous experiences with their new son to help them carry on.
Their youngest child, Tallant, will undergo another operation this month and, in between, the family is organizing a golf tournament to raise money for other families who are undergoing medical procedures.
The Burrs know what these families have gone through. They’ve been there twice.
" Of course, you can never prepare enough for it. But at a time when their children are sick, we don’t want parents to be worrying about not being able to be there for their children, " Carisa Burr said.
Kaylen Marie Burr was born Feb. 5, 2002, a seemingly healthy little girl. But soon after her birth, she was diagnosed with aortic stenosis, a narrowing of the valves that go to the heart.
The family was concerned but her father, Craig, was also diagnosed with the same condition when he was born. After three surgeries, he survived.
But Kaylen’s situation also included another condition known as pulmonary stenosis, which includes a narrowed valve going to her lungs.
On June 20, she entered Vanderbilt Hospital for an operation to correct the defects. While her worried parents waited by her bedside, they noticed many other children in the hospital who didn’t have any visitors. Whether through distance or economic necessity, their parents weren’t able to make it to the hospital regularly.
The Burrs also were touched by the caring nature of the medical staff, some who paid for their young patients’ needs out of their own pockets.
Complications set in after Kaylen’s surgery and the happy, social 5-month-old died a week later.
In their grief, Kaylen’s parents decided to best remember their daughter by helping the children at Vanderbilt and thanking the hospital staff for their compassion.
Three months after their daughter’s death, the Burrs set up the Kaylen Foundation to provide gas cards to parents who aren’t able to afford transportation to the hospital and meal tickets to pay for dinners at the cafeteria, or for hospital staff, the ability to purchase baby items for the young patients.
To raise the money necessary, the couple organized a golf scramble to be held that October.
" The day of the golf scramble, it was just so hazy and rainy. We were really thinking of calling it off. But then 80 golfers showed up ready to play. We couldn’t believe it. They were all there because they heard about Kaylen, " Carisa said.
That day alone put $6,000 into the foundation’s bank. Money raised through the event and through other donations brought the total to nearly $11,000 to provide necessities for hospitalized children and their families.
Then came even happier news: The Burrs were expecting another child. Last June 4, the Franklin couple welcomed their son, Tallant, into the world.
But their minds raced when they found out that he was born with the same condition as his father and his older sister.
At 3 months, he would undergo his first surgery. Because of the family history, doctors decided to operate earlier than they did with Kaylen.
" What the doctors learned during Kaylen’s surgery, they used that to help Tallant. There was a purpose for Kaylen being here and going through what she did. Of course, we wish she was still here. But we really feel that Tallant wouldn’t be here now without Kaylen, " said their mother.
