nonprofit for families navigating home life for children with tracheostomies

how S3Kit began

This is the story of a Midwest mama and how her boy's miraculous little life inspired a cause that would touch families all over the United States.

Eighty surgeries & procedures, a forty-day medically induced coma, and multiple cardiac arrests were never part of the plan when Jamie had her fourth child, Sam. By two months old and his third cardiac arrest, with over ten minutes of chest compressions to save his life, doctors discovered the hole in Sam's airway. After watching him die three times, cutting a hole in his neck to survive was not up for discussion. Sam's life-saving breathing tube was a blessing but also an overwhelming and isolating experience. 

No one can prepare you for what it's like to watch your baby cry and hear no sound.

After an eight-hour class to learn how to keep their son alive with a trach, practicing on a doll, it was time to do it for real. Jamie and her husband will never forget the feeling of holding their son's life in their hands as they changed Sam's trach for the first time. 

During that overwhelming stay, they received gift baskets from Fiona's Hope and Jack's Basket, full of comfort items and tools that helped ease the burden of staying at the hospital. These baskets said, "I have been in your shoes. You are not alone." Because of those gifts, they knew someone else had walked the same path and made it through. 

These different but incredible organizations helped ease feelings of isolation and overwhelm during that stay. As their journey with Sam continued, Jamie recognized a need for families like theirs: a kit to help with the transition from hospital to home.

Bringing Sam home for the first time after over seven months with all his medical equipment was daunting. His room looked more like a hospital than a nursery, but there was no "code blue" at home. Several years later, those once-scary trach changes became routine, and the dream of helping families like hers took shape.

In March of 2020, Jamie began creating baskets she thought would be helpful. She wanted to give things that would be useful and give encouragement that doing hard things is possible. Today, Sam thrives, continuing to defy the odds and win hearts with his captivating personality, while Jamie serves as the founder and executive director of S3Kit, and CEO of all things Sam :)

Their story is shared by thousands of families across the country every year. S3Kit is on a mission to support and encourage as many of them as possible, one basket at a time.