Neil and Maria Gibbons of Falcon Heights know from experience that long stays in the hospital during a child’s illness can be incredibly difficult. When the family heard that Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota in St. Paul would be breaking ground on a new neuroscience and epilepsy center, they wanted to give back to the place they spent so much time. When Children’s Hospitals and Clinics opened the doors to its new neuroscience and epilepsy unit in December, patient families found a space—Kylie’s Hope Family Resource Center, sponsored by the Gibbons’ foundation—where they can take a few minutes away from their child’s hospital room, relax and connect with other parents. The Gibbons’ oldest daughter, Kylie, was only 4 months old when she experienced her first seizure. Neil and Maria admitted Kylie to the epilepsy unit at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, where they learned she had a rare genetic disease. The Gibbons were so grateful for the care and support they received at Children’s that they created the foundation Kylie’s Hope. Over the past five years, Neil, Maria, and their family and friends have built support for Kylie’s Hope through an annual golf tournament. Proceeds provide families with gift cards to ease everyday financial burdens like gas, food or lodging while a child is in the hospital. Kylie is now on a new medication that better controls her seizures and the Gibbons still get together with the families they’ve met during Kylie’s long stays at Children’s. Kylie is now 9 years old and a happy third-grade student.
