The Camp Taylor Story

14 years ago- I remember the day like it was yesterday. My son Taylor James Gamino was born with half a heart (hypo-plastic right heart syndrome with intact ventricular septum.) My world as I knew it stopped. Taylor was rushed to U.C.S.F. where at the young age of 5 days old he underwent his first open heart surgery. After several weeks in the intensive care unit recovering from surgery, he was finally able to return home and learn how to eat. Both myself and my husband had to get nursing degrees in a matter of days to deliver all of Taylor's meds, ng tube feedings, etc. Taylor went into heart failure several times. The pediatric intensive care unit became an all to familiar place for our family. Watching and feeling helpless as Taylor fought for his life was a very terrifying feeling. The emotional roller coaster endured with having a child that suffers from such and illness is nothing short of hell. When all you can do is hold, love, and pray for your child to receive a miracle.......then that's what you do.

During Taylor's first 5 years of life he underwent a total of 4 open heart surgeries and suffered a stroke. At times our family lived at the hospital for months on end as Taylor struggled with set backs. His heart racing, high fevers, staph infections, and complications were major obstacles for our little baby trying to grow to a toddler. Michael and I stayed at Taylor's side 24 hours a day. We literally didn't know if we would have a reason to be on the 14 th floor of the intensive care unit the next day. We witnessed children passing away around us. We prayed for these families and their loss as we asked for Taylor to be comforted and not to feel pain. As Taylor suffered my husband and I came to grips with the reality that we would never know how strong or how long our son's heart would last. Heavenly Father blessed us with Taylor surviving and after years of agony we finally could think of life outside of the hospital.

When Taylor was 8 years old he realized that he could no longer keep up with his friends. He couldn't play baseball or other sports due to the threat of injury and exhaustion. At school everyone knew Taylor had heart disease and he felt very different. Though Taylor was doing well from a medical standpoint, his needs had grown to become challenges dealing with the emotional, mental and social aspects of living with a life-threatening illness. I noticed that he had a true need to meet other kids with heart disease so that he wouldn't feel so different from other children. I wanted him to feel good about himself like all parents desire for their children.

I searched for a program for Taylor and I couldn't find a single program for my son in all of Central & Northern California. I was shocked, we knew that Congenital Heart Defects is the number one birth defect affecting some 40,000 babies born each year in the United States. I wondered who was helping all these children? I thought my son cannot possibly be the only kid with this need!! That very day Camp Taylor, Inc. was born and my husband and I decided to help our own son and as many other children as possible.

Camp Taylor has changed our world for the better, creating smiles on the faces of children is a priceless gift to both give and receive.

This is Taylor's story but it's only the second chapter and I believe his book has about 8 more chapters to go.

With love for my son & all children,
Kimberlie Gamino