Our Story/ Our Mission

April 7, 2011 our second son Bowen (our third child) was born on my husband’s birthday. We had a normal healthy pregnancy. When Bowen was born he was taken to the NICU for difficulty breathing. Twenty-four hours later, he was given the diagnosis of Bilateral Polycystic Kidney disease known as ARPKD (Autosommal Recessive Polycystic Kidney disease). We were thrown into a whirlwind of making medical decisions of life vs. death for our son. Bowen’s kidneys when he was born were 8cm, Adult’s kidneys are 10cm. The surgeries and dialysis did not work and doctors could not do anything more to help. On April 20, 2011 Bowen went to Heaven as we held him in our arms for the last time. Our hope is that we can put an end to PKD and our purpose is to fight to find a cure for as long as it takes. So no more families have to go through what we went through. PKD not only effects babies but adults as well. One in 500 adults have PKD and effects 1 in 20,000 babies. You can help go to www.pkdcure.org to make a donation in honor of our son Bowen Gillis to put an end to this horrible disease. God Bless

Bowen’s Slideshow-

Visit Bowen’s CaringBridge site here.

March is National Kidney Month! Get your kidneys Checked! 1 in 500 people have PKD if you have lower back pain and high blood pressure it is time to go see the doctor! Wear your bracelet, spread awareness!