Hamilton woman fights for her life after losing her child

HAMILTON, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - A Hamilton woman's life turned upside down when she lost her child. But then, Katie Lubbers began her fight to live after finding out that what cost her a child, could cause her death.

Katie and Robb Lubbers met in 2001, the couple was married in 2006 and knew they wanted to start a family right away.

They found out they were pregnant in 2007 and started getting ready to welcome a new member to the family. The pair picked out baby toys, got the nursery ready, but their son never got to hug his stuffed animals or sleep in his new crib.

Katie said that on February 29 she began to experience strange cramps at work, she wasn't even 22 weeks along.

Their son was born more than four months early, he weighed just over 13 ounces. Brenham Jay lived for just three minutes.

It took doctors about a month to figure out what went wrong.

Katie's kidneys were failing. On top of losing their son, the couple had to fight for Katie's life.

Katie says that "dialysis has become a big part of my life, that's not really what you think your life's gonna consist of at 22 years old."

Katie has dialysis four hours a day, three days a week, sitting in a hospital while her blood is filtered through a machine at a cost of $1,200 each visit.

The Lubbers do have insurance, but it's not enough. Katie's waiting for a kidney transplant.

Katie writes a blog to help her cope with everything that life has thrown at her, and she leans on her husband for support, managing to stay positive through it all.

The Lubbers say that they are confident they will have a happy ending eventually.

There is a fund set up at the Hamilton Macatawa Bank for anyone who would like to help with Katie's medical expenses. That bank is at 4758 136^th Avenue. Or you can give them a call at (269) 751-2505, just mention the Katie Lubbers medical donation fund.