Dreams Resorts asked who deserves to go to the Sugar Bay Shake for free and why.

So we asked you who deserves to go to the Sugar Bay Shake for free and why.

So many of you told us about incredible people.  But there could be only one person that could have a Dream Come Q vacation. Our panel of reviewers had the impossible task of determining who should be the winner.

It should be noted that our reviewers weren’t asked to pick the “best” entry, rather they were tasked with finding a winner for the trip.  There was no “best” to the entries.  Just stories of inspiration, admiration and love.

Please meet Kaitlynn Polcaro.  Kaitlynn’s story was not just the story of horrible loss but of not letting loss change you.  She turned her own loss into the possibility of helping others.

Please enjoy the presentation and he letter of nomination.

Here’s the submission letter:

I would love to nominate a young lady who has more strength than any young lady I know of. In 2013 Kaitlynn found out that she was pregnant with mixed emotions as any first pregnancy she scared and excited. In September Kaitlynn went for her 18 weeks gender ultra sound and we were all so excited to know she was having a daughter and I a granddaughter. Excitement soon turned to panic as we were told there was a hole in her diaphragm she had a rare birth defect called CDH, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and needed to see a specialist in Syracuse. After the visit to Syracuse and all the research we had learned we found Boston Childrens Hospital had a CDH clinic. With survival rate being 50% Boston had a higher survival rate for those they treated. With no second thought we traveled to Boston to meet with a medical team. Kaitlynn found out her daughter had a sever case, her (RiLynn) stomach, part of her liver and her small intestines had shifted to her chest. CDH is a hole in the diaphragm that allows the organs form the abdomen to shift to the chest and blocks the lungs from developing. RiLynn had less than 50% chance of survival but the team was very optimistic she could beat this. Kaitlynn and I traveled back and forth from Ithaca to Boston several times before we finally relocated there at about 30 weeks as she had gone into preterm labor and we needed to be in Boston for delivery. On February 4, 2014 RiLynn arrived at 6 pounds 4 ounces. At about 40 minutes old RiLynn went into Cardiac arrest and was placed on ECMO to give her body a chance to heal. ECMO is a heart, lung bypass machine. We had a rough 3 weeks but RiLynn was finally ready to go into surgery to repair the diaphragm. Kaitlynn was so strong, at RiLynns bedside learning all the medications, all the lines and what they were for, just sitting reading, holding RiLynns hand or rubbing her face. RilLynn breezed through the surgery (we knew she would she was so strong). Due to a blood clot at 23 days RiLynn had to come off ECMO ready or not. And she did awesome!! I cant tell you how many tears we cried for our princess she showed us all so much. At 28 days we found out that a blood clot had passed and went to RiLynns brain and she had several hundred seizures, at 27 days old RiLynn went to be with her grandfather. This was a journey that was not just sad but a journey where Kaitynn and RiLynn showed every one of us the power of love, prayers, many blessing and strength. Kaitlynn with out thinking twice was right there supporting another mom that lives close by start her journey, she cried with her, laughed with her and was right there when this mom needed comfort during her delivery and beginning days of the CDH journey. Kaitlynn continued/continues to support CDH moms. RiLynn also sent us a surprise her little brother. At 3 weeks early on January 1, 2015 RiLynn helped us welcome her little brother Chance. Chance was a second chance for Kaitlynn. RiLynn brought us a lot of blessings her mommy and daddy got married in September and in January her brother. Recently Kaitlynn found out she has a medical condition that she is also showing us all strength. Kaitlynn never gives up, she gets depressed but then pulls her self right out to push on. Kaitlynn deserves a break and a getaway is just part of what would be a great start. Because of her unconditional love, her dedication to other CDH mommies and her strength I think she is the top choice for this dream vacation. I love you with all my heart, Mom