Big Island micropreemie now 4-year-old Children’s Miracle Network champion

In 2018, Hilo residents Cherilyn and Kevin Yee were expecting their new baby. Cherilyn wasn’t due until the spring, but 10 days before Christmas — at just 23 weeks pregnant — she noticed something was not quite right.

The Kapi‘olani Critical Care Transport team flew with her from the Big Island to Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women & Children on O‘ahu, where doctors performed an emergency C-section.

Kalley-Mae entered the world at just 11.81 inches long and weighing only 1 pound, 6.6 ounces, so small she was classified a micropreemie.

Today, after a 183-day stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, two rounds of pneumonia, 10 blood transfusions and surgeries on her heart and eyes, Kalley-Mae is a vibrant 4-year-old girl. She dances, jumps, plays T-ball and occasionally doesn’t listen to her parents.

And last month, Kalley-Mae was chosen as the 2023 Children’s Miracle Network champion for Hawai’i.

Kalley-Mae and her family accepted the honor in front of a cheering crowd at the Sheraton Waikīkī. She will serve as Hawaiʻi’s ambassador for the national Children’s Miracle Network program, sharing her courageous story throughout the year to community partners and supporters committed to the health and well-being of Hawai‘i’s keiki.

Kalley-Mae is indeed a miracle.

“I saw how small and fragile she was,” Cherilyn said. “But when we heard her cry for the first time, it gave us a glimmer of hope. We wanted to enjoy the moment as much as we could and, at the same time, not get our hopes up.”

Kalley-Mae’s medical journey was just getting started. The tiny micropreemie was immediately placed in an incubator in Kapi‘olani’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. A ventilator helped her breathe and other specialized machines kept her alive. She was so small and fragile, even her parents were afraid to touch her.

“At 23 weeks, sometimes the baby’s organs are not developed enough to support life,” said Dr. Cherilyn Yee, a Kapi‘olani neonatologist who coincidentally has the same name as the mother and is not related to the Yee family.

“Sometimes they’re so small that even our smallest breathing tubes can’t fit,” Dr. Yee said. “Fortunately, we were able to find one that fit Kalley-Mae, and she responded well.”

A few weeks later, doctors discovered a problem with her heart. She needed open-heart surgery at only 46 days old.

“Premature infants often have difficulty tolerating the heart procedure, and Kalley-Mae got sick. She got very sick.” Yee said. “She developed pneumonia and there were times we thought she may not make it. But Kalley-Mae is strong and managed to pull through.”

It wasn’t the last challenge, but Kapi‘olani physicians, nurses, specialists, therapists, pharmacists and the entire medical staff offered their expertise, compassion and support.

“Every day was a journey,” Kevin Yee said. “Some days, all we could do was try to get from morning to lunchtime, then from lunch to dinner, one step at a time.”

He said everyone at Kapi‘olani was “amazing,” explaining every step in a compassionate manner.

Today, Kalley-Mae is enjoying her life at home in Hilo. She is active and enjoys “running really, really, really, really fast.”

Kapi‘olani staff who cared for her during the first crucial months of her life say she is a natural fit for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals champion.

“She was feisty from day one,” said Lloyda Tamboa, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nurse who spent weeks with the Yees. “Even when she could barely move a limb or open her eyes, you could tell she was a fighter. Kalley-Mae is proof that sometimes the teeniest, tiniest babies are the strongest.”

Kalley-Mae’s champion announcement included several surprises, including a trip to California for the family, where they will visit Disneyland and represent Kapi‘olani at a Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals event.

Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals partners are excited to welcome the Yees to their stores.

“Meeting the champion family in person really helps our employees and our members put a face and story to the purpose of our fundraising efforts,” said Lianne Shimaoka-Lopez, general manager of Costco Kailua-Kona. “Our whole team looks forward to that day when they come to visit our stores and pass out their pins. It makes such a lasting impression and motivates everyone to keep going and asking for donations for the keiki.”

There are Kalley-Mae champion pins. The unique design represents her journey:

• The hand recalls one of her parents’ most powerful memories from those early weeks – when Kalley-Mae’s tiny hand could barely wrap around their finger.
• The stethoscope is a symbol of her parents’ love, as well as the lifesaving care Kalley-Mae received at Kapiʻolani.
• The bracelet reflects Kalley-Mae’s love of jewelry, as well as the many Beads of Courage she received during her 183-day stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

As a not-for-profit medical center, Kapi‘olani relies on community support to further its mission of caring for Hawai‘i’s families and creating a healthier Hawai‘i. 

In Hawai‘i, funds help support key programs and services at Kapi‘olani that helped Kalley-Mae and many other keiki, including the Child Life program, critical care transport team and lifesaving equipment. Gifts made in Hawai‘i stay in Hawai‘i, with 100% of the funds going to help local keiki.

Local fundraising partners Costco Wholesale, Panda Express, Walmart and Sam’s Club, Ace Hardware, Marriott Vacations Worldwide, various Hawai‘i credit unions, KSSK with iHeartMedia, D. Suehiro Electric, Inc. and more helped raise more than $3 million for Kapi‘olani Children’s Miracle Network last year. Kapi‘olani has had a partnership with the network for nearly 40 years.