The Kettlers - Kim, Kelby, and Kelly

The first family we were able to help with the Game Library Program in the Iowa City area was the Kettler family: husband and wife Kelly and Kim, and son Kelby. Their story, like most people who end up with Habitat for Humanity, is remarkable. Trials and illness, medical expenses--and in the end, a new, safe, and comfortable home.

From the Iowa Valley HfH website:

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.”

It was a distinct pleasure to be invited into their new home for the dedication ceremony, to get to meet the couple and Kelby--he's a great kid. Understandably not very communicative that day, as the ceremonies can be a stimulus overload. But his smile would not go away, and he was eager to show anyone who asked his new 'Hawkeye' room.

Knowing about his medical issues beforehand, I had been in contact with the Habitat staff and his parents--we needed to make sure that the games we included in their game library would be suitable for a young man with seizure issues and limited eyesight. I was told that Kelby has almost full use of his hands, and "loves to roll dice".

Well...that's nothing a gamer can't understand, right?

Kelby and his parents have a brand new house, including all the features they couldn't get before: a zero-entrance front door and shower, wide doorways, and all in a very welcoming neighborhood and town. And, while a collection of games pales in comparison to a house, I like to think that this new environment will help Kelby blossom further into the great kid he's become, and that games can only help that process.

-Tom

DONATE NOW
Help us continue to help families like the Kettlers