Kirsten Kainz
Mom’s Little Princess
“No! I’ll do it myself, Mommy!”
These words and that stubborn attitude may frustrate many parents, but they play a sweet melody to the ears of Kim Kainz. After long and difficult struggles through brain surgery, complications, and a continuing recovery, Kim’s daughter Kristen, now 5, has traveled a truly miraculous journey.
At seven months pregnant with her third child, Kim Kainz left work early and took her daughter Kristen to the doctor to have some tests run. Kristen, who was only fifteen months old at the time, had been ill for several weeks. No one could have predicted the tragedy to come.
Kim left her office door unlocked and her computer on. She left work on her desk and expected to be back to the office in the morning. But that afternoon a CAT scan revealed that Kristen had a tennis ball sized tumor on her brain. Kim didn’t return to work for six months.
The large tumor caused increasing pressure in Kristen’s head. It was tangled in her optic nerve and restricted the flow of spinal fluid throughout her entire body. A team of specialists assembled the following day and successfully removed most of the tumor from Kristen’s brain. After surgery, Kristen endured seizures, a stroke, brain damage, and suffered complete vision loss. These disabilities inundated and overwhelmed the life of this precious 15-month-old child.
With her cherished daughter suffering from a debilitating condition, a friend referred Kim Kainz to UCP of Central Florida. This is where her long and difficult recovery began.
After almost four years of speech, occupational, vision, and physical therapy at UCP, Kristen is
now walking, talking, seeing and attending a regular kindergarten classroom.
Kim says, “Kristen has surpassed what everybody thought she could accomplish. She’s got such a positive attitude and a sweet disposition. If she can achieve what she has in the past four years, then she can do anything.”
Equipped with therapy and love from UCP’s staff, Kristen’s success continues to amaze us all. She still attends UCP’s East Orange center twice a week and persistently astonishes her teachers, therapists, family and friends.
After receiving such immense help for Kristen, Kim and her husband Greg developed a burning desire to aid in the mission of UCP.
On November 5, 2005 Kim and Greg Kainz, as well as their neighbors Jennifer and Charlie George, hosted a fundraising party at the George’s home in Oviedo. The party was complete with food, entertainment, and a silent auction in which buyers purchased therapy equipment for UCP. The event raised more than $13,000. When Kim observed a continuing need at UCP, the idea to have a fundraising benefit was sparked, and with great ambition, leadership, and energy, she ventured, “I can do it myself.”
Self-determination and an attitude of accomplishment fuel Kim’s desire to help both Kristen and UCP. And it’s that same attitude that drives Kristen’s longing to reach her fullest potential: her desire to see, her desire to walk and her desire to make friends and minutely impact the lives of those around her.
“Kristen is always going to have to work harder than the next kid,” says Kim.
But she will and is leading a profoundly meaningful life.
When Kristen says, “No! I’ll do it myself, Mommy,” you could call her stubborn, difficult or disobedient. But to Kim Kainz those words from her precious daughter delineate the fact that Kristen is determined, ambitious, and driven to succeed.
With a smile in her voice Kim says, “Kristen is my princess.”
And Kristen is a princess because that is what she wants to be.
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