Helping Hands Ease the Load for Hiro’s Family
Constant visits to the hospital, especially during the school year, can be quite stressful for Kalyn and her family. Hiro, her youngest of five children, was born with a unique limb structure and uses prosthetic legs as part of his daily life.
Hiro’s prostheses are remade every six months or so to match his growth and movement. He also loves being active — surfing and swimming — leading his prostheses to wear and need repair. Creating Hiro’s new prostheses can feel tedious through a detailed process.
Hiro's mom, Kalyn, shares that the prosthetic fitting process often requires multiple visits to the hospital each week, with adjustments happening step-by-step. It's time-consuming and physically demanding - they spend many hours at the clinic ensuring everything fits just right.
It can be a lot for Kalyn and her husband to juggle getting the kids to their school activities, Hiro’s hospital stays and full-time work. She explained:
“We try to tag team. I stay overnight with Hiro and then I leave for work during the day. After dad drops everybody off at school, he comes over and stays with him.”
When Hiro is hospitalized, he worries about missing classroom instruction. He’s a driven, bright, and avid learner, striving to be at the top of his class. Kalyn expressed the stress of missing school for Hiro, including feeling like he was going to fall behind and have more to do to catch up.
Help During Life's Busiest Seasons
Balancing life as a full-time teacher and sole provider can be challenging. She can’t take off work when Hiro needs to go to the hospital. Summer break can sometimes pose extra hurdles for their family too. She shares:
“Things can get hairy being a teacher, financial wise, because we don't get paid during the summer. I have to budget, but if certain expenses come up it can get a little bit crazy.”
During these times, Kalyn and Hiro have sometimes tapped into the resources the hospital provides to support families during the school year. “They have school supplies ... they really made a difference,” Kalyn reminisced. “They’re always cute, fun things that Hiro likes."
Lifting the Load
Resources like these can help lift weight off parents’ shoulders, especially during the back-to-school season. Kalyn shared why this type of support is crucial for families:
“It helps the parents because they aren’t having to worry about, ‘Okay, I need to get this, I need to get that.’ Meanwhile, I’m trying to get my kids to an appointment, or maybe the school will tell you ‘you need to bring certain supplies’ and you can’t find them, or they’re sold out of them when you go to the store.”
For kids, resources like school supplies and backpacks add to the excitement, familiarity and normalcy of a brand-new school year.
“Kids are excited because it's something new for them — a new year, new start, new backpack — with all these fun things inside that are going to help them be good students. I think it's motivating for them. It makes them feel special and cared about.”
- Kalyn, Hiro's Mom
The school year is just around the corner, and hundreds of thousands of kids are starting it in their hospital room.
You can give kids and their families the relief and support they need to manage school life amidst appointments and procedures.
Help fund a Starlight backpack today.
