Kaitlyn Shannon was born to parents Jonathan & Kelly Cross on January 30, 2006. She was six weeks premature, with a congenital kidney defect discovered shortly after birth. Her condition was carefully monitored from that point forward for any signs of renal deterioration, which, unfortunately, came quite suddenly and unexpectedly at the age of nine months. Critically ill, Kaitlyn spent a month at Morristown Memorial Hospital, Morristown, NJ, most of that time in the pediatric intensive care unit. The subsequent diagnosis was End Stage Renal Disease. With daily peritoneal dialysis treatment and much love, Kaitlyn was finally well enough to receive a kidney transplant at seventeen months of age, from her mother, Kelly. This life-saving procedure was done by the transplant team at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, NJ on July 25, 2007.
With the cost of any transplant easily exceeding $500,000, many transplant patients and their families are unable to shoulder the financial burden of such a procedure. The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) is a national charity dedicated to organizing and helping communities in raising funds for transplant-needy patients. A group of local residents and family members have been working with the assistance of COTA to raise funds on Kaitlyn’s behalf. One hundred percent of all funds raised are used for transplant-related expenses.
Although Kaitlyn is doing well since her transplant, her immunosuppressive drugs present a real challenge in terms of preventing a "routine" infection from becoming life-threatening. Trips to the emergency room are fairly routine. Due to her very young age at transplant, we know that Kaitlyn will require one or more additional transplants in her lifetime and the goal of the COTA for Kaitlyn campaign is to insure that funds are always available for her to receive the best possible medical care.
You can make a tax-deductible contribution to Kaitlyn’s campaign in any one of the following ways. Secure credit card donations will be accepted at www.cota.org. Alternatively, donations may be mailed directly to the Children’s Organ Transplant Association , 2501 West COTA Drive, Bloomington, IN 47403. Checks or money orders should be made payable to COTA, with "In Honor of Kaitlyn Cross" written on the memo line.
Volunteers are needed to assist with fundraising activities. Individuals and groups interested in more information can contact Tom Cross at 908-852-4401/ t.cross15@comcast.net.
Thank you for your caring and support!
3rd Annual “COTA for Kaitlyn” Golf Outing
Kaitlyn’s 3rd Annual Golf Outing was held on June 21st at Minebrook Golf Club in Hackettstown, NJ. We had a beautiful day for the event which included a round of golf, awards luncheon, raffle for our great door prizes and an auction for specialty items such as airline tickets, major league baseball tickets and collectible model car and book autographed by Carroll Shelby.
The Golf Outing Committee did a great job once again this year and we look forward to the “4th annual COTA for Kaitlyn Golf Outing” in June, 2011.
Click to view Kaitlyn’s Beginning
Click to view Kaitlyn’s Kidney Story
Click to view Our Daughter Kaitlyn
Click to view 1st Annual "Cota for Kaitlyn" Golf Outing
Click to view 2nd Annual "Cota for Kaitlyn" Golf Outing 2009
Click to view Cota for Kaitlyn Walk-A-Thon
Don't forget to GoodSearch today! Here's all you need to do: If you like to shop on the web, try GoodShop for online purchases. A percentage of your sale will be donated to Kaitlyn's COTA campaign.