Who is Delvon Campbell? Local Texas community launches $50K fundraiser to provide police chief's ill daughter, 9, with service dog
DECATUR, TEXAS: Delvon Campbell has served the Decatur Police Department for more than 20 years and has three children with his wife, Ashley - 15-year-old Addison and nine-year-old twins Kynadee and Ryleigh. Kynadee has been battling serious health issues all her life, and the small town has now come together to give the ailing child a service dog.
ABC affiliate WFAA reported that Kynadee was born at 28 weeks old, weighing a mere 1.4 pounds. The doctors diagnosed the premature newborn to have respiratory and pulmonary complications, as well as cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
Kynadee has faced medical issues all her life, but she has been experiencing a rise in seizures lately, which can cause her to stop breathing.
Kynadee’s heart-wrenching story
Decatur Police Chief Delvon shared with the Wise County Messenger last month that his daughter had been having seizures for the past couple of years, but at the time they were able to control them with medicine.
“The seizures started happening more frequently and they changed from the normal seizures she’d been having previously. She’d been having multiple seizures pretty much back-to-back, and none of the medicines were working,” he said.
Kynadee was admitted to Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, last month on Labor Day weekend. She had 25 seizures at the time and was considered critically ill.
Her parents recalled how she started aspirating and was put on a ventilator, which she stayed on for 15 days. Additionally, the ailing child had to stay in the hospital for a total of 30 days.
“It didn’t matter what we did, they weren’t stopping,” Ashley, her mother, said referring to her daughter’s seizures. “There’s been several times we’ve almost lost her.”
The search for a solution
Kynadee returned home after a grueling month’s stay in the hospital, but she continues to have seizures.
Her twin sister, Ryliegh, admitted to the local news station how she’s worried for her sister and can’t sleep at night.
"Cuz I’m scared she’s gonna have a seizure in the middle of the night," she said.
Kynadee's neurologist recommended having a seizure response dog, which is trained to perform specific behaviors during or after a seizure.
Ashley Campbell revealed the monetary implications of having one of these specially-trained K9 dogs and how they aren’t financially feasible, most times.
"At minimum, usually, $30,000, yeah," said Ashley.
But the prices can go up to $60,000, which in addition to their daughter's daunting medical bills, can be a challenge in itself.
Community comes together
The citizens and communities of Decatur created a GoFundMe on Kynadee’s behalf with the aim of raising $50,000 to pay for a seizure dog and supplement her ongoing treatment.
Police Chief Campbell shared how he is in “shock and awe” over the generosity his family has seen and received from the people of Decatur.
“A lot of people we’ve never met before will send messages that they’re praying for her,” shared Ashley.
Delvon was quoted by the Wise County Messenger expressing gratitude for the outpouring of love and kind words he’d received on his daughter’s behalf.
“This is what makes Decatur Decatur in my opinion, the way people go out of their way to help one another,” he said.
“It’s not the first time the community has stepped up and helped us with Kynadee and all her disabilities that she has,” the dad noted.
“It’s really, really, really awesome to know you live and work in a community that will go out of its way to help one another," he continued. “You hear other people talk about their communities that do these things, but Decatur is just different.”
“It’s wonderful you have people who go out of their way to help people, and they don’t ask for anything in return,” Delvon added.
The GoFundMe, which was started last month, has raised close to $43,000 so far.
While it can sometimes take six to eight months to receive a dog once you are on the waiting list, the Campbell family hopes the gravity of Kynadee’s condition will help move her up the priority list.
