Lexie Kinder wanted to be just like any other 11-year-old girl.
Hwever, she was born with tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia.
Tetralogy of Fallot is a heart defect that occurs in birth. It can normally be repaired during the first year of a child’s life. However, pulmonary artresia cannot be cured. It’s a congenital malformation of the pulmonary valve, where the valve orifice in the pulmonary artery fails to develop. This means that Lexie’s blood can’t oxygenate itself properly.
Among other things, this causes her lips, toes, fingers, and areas around her eyes to appear blue due to lack of circulation.
Lexie was in the process of getting better—when she was a baby, she had two surgeries to replace her pulmonary artery—but could not get a lung or heart transplant after her birth mother abandoned her.
As a result, she needs oxygen administration for even the least taxing activities.
Cristi Kinder, her adopted mother, wanted to fulfill her daughter’s dream of attending school, but after two weeks, it seemed impossible.
“Her pulmonary artery is about the size of the pulmonary artery in a six-month-old baby,” says Cristi. She only ended up being able to participate in class two weeks out of the year.
This all changed in 2013.
She was given a VGo, a $6,000 robot which was a gift to her from her school district. The VGo provides Lexie the opportunity to feel like a normal girl. Her peers named It “Princess VGo,” and it’s made her popular at her school.
“Instead of being stared at for looking different than the other children, she is now being stared at for having a really cool robot named Princess VGo,” says Cristi.
The robot enables her to videoconference into school. She can go to class for a few hours a day, three times a week, but the rest of the time she can use the robot. She can drive the robot remotely.
Shawn Haggerty, director of specialized programs for the district, said, “The student can get the feeling of a school culture by remotely interacting academically and socially.”
Her parents have no way of knowing how long Lexie will live. But they’re delighted to provide Lexie with the social experience she so craved.
But no one is more delighted than Lezie.
“The best thing about VGo is that when I am feeling yucky, I can still go to school and see my friends,” she says.
