Kyden’s Keepers Non-Profit Foundation Will Honor Namesake During U-M Home Opener of 2019

Kyden’s Keepers Non-Profit Foundation Will Honor Namesake During U-M Home Opener of 2019
On Saturday, August 31st, Kyden’s Keepers Non-Profit Charitable Foundation will honor Kyden Justus Brown during University of Michigan’s first home football game of 2019.
Kyden was born with a congenital heart defect called, “Tricuspid Atresia with Transformation of the Great Vessels”, meaning that only half of his heart was developed and the main vessels in his heart were reversed. After undergoing three open heart surgeries by the time he was three years old, Kyden ultimately would need a heart transplant. After waiting on the heart transplant list for nearly 3 months, Kyden finally received his new heart.
“We were blessed and grateful for this gift. We realized what the family of the child [donor] was dealing with when they provided this unbelievable gift,” said Ja’Net Brown, Co-Founder of Kyden’s Keepers and Kyden’s mother. Unfortunately, due to Kyden’s weakened state, the gift was too little, too late. After two months of receiving the new heart, Kyden passed away on July 10th, 2014. “My little boy fought so very bravely, and he taught us what true strength means,” commented Ja’Net.
Purpose Found
While many would find reasons to wallow in pity, Ja’Net and Khary Brown wanted to lift up their
son’s story and stress the importance of pediatric organ donation to other families. Through this
realization, Kyden’s Keepers was born. For the past five years, Kyden’s Keepers has provided Christmas
dinners to every family in the CVICU (Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit) and PICU (Pediatric Intensive
Care Unit) at Levine’s Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, NC, where the Brown’s currently reside.
Time for Celebration
Originally being from the metro Detroit area, the Brown family wanted to do something fun to
commemorate September 4, 2019, which would be Kyden’s 10th birthday. Since he was a baby, he loved
rooting and watching the Michigan Wolverines with his dad, and the family thought this would be a fun
way to honor him. “He would always love to sit and watch the games with me, even when he was a
baby. One of my biggest regrets was not being able to take him to a game at The Big House,” says
Khary. Several family members and friends will be on hand to celebrate and attend the game. There
will be a message displayed on the scoreboard during the game, marking Kyden’s 10th birthday. The
family will also have a Sunday brunch the next day to further celebrate Kyden, before departing back to
Charlotte.
###
Founded in 2014, Kyden’s Keepers is based in Charlotte, NC and is a Non-Profit Charitable Foundation
committed to raising the importance of pediatric organ donation.