Rilynn Rose Candle + Co.
Rilynn Rose Candle + Co. was birthed as a labor of love to help children in need of life-saving organ transplants.
With each purchase, you are giving hope and another chance at life. In return, you are receiving high-quality soy candles that burn clean and thoroughly with endless aroma. All proceeds go to reach children and their families who need an organ.
Our Story
Rilynn was born by emergency C-section January 9th, 2017. She was diagnosed with autosomal polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) while in the womb and told multiple times she would not survive. At 35 weeks along, our daughter was quickly admitted after finding a defect in Rilynn’s heart. The doctor said she was un-survivable. Three days later Rilynn was born via emergency C- Section. The first two weeks were the hardest, we were told multiple times she wouldn’t make it another night but Rilynn pushed through. She had both of her enlarged kidneys removed and began dialysis at a week old. And this was just the beginning of multiple setbacks, surgeries, and infections. She was in the NICU for 95 days and then sent home on dialysis 12 hours a day while we waited to find a living kidney donor. A year and a half later we had found our match and surgery was scheduled, but before that transplant could happen, cancer was found in her liver. We had a bigger fight to fight. It took 19 rounds of chemo and 9 months before a perfect match for a liver was found. Little Jackson, 5 years old, passed away and his parents gave the ultimate gift of life to Rilynn. After much healing, we were ready for her to receive her kidney, but we had lost our first donor due to the amount of time that had passed. So the process of finding a new donor began. Tabitha Neal was another perfect match and she made the sacrifice and decision to save Rilynn’s life! She put her life on hold and gave Rilynn one of her kidneys. Transplant was scheduled and right before surgery our Governor deemed the surgery was not life-threatening, and due to covid-19 it was cancelled. It would be another long 6 months of dialysis before Rilynn received that kidney in October of 2020. She was just shy of 5 years old before she had her kidney and was able to pee, take a bath, swim, eat and drink without limit and live a normal life!
During this 5 year battle, our daughter had to quit her stable job at the Secretary of State for the State of Michigan and become a full time “nurse”. Their family income was just reduced by half. I took my candle making hobby and started selling candles to friends and co-workers and to our community who supported us beyond our imagination. The people loved my candles and raved about how clean they burned. My little “business” grew into what it is today with a portion of the proceeds going to other families with children who need life-saving organs and are fighting the battle of childhood cancer. I make no money in this business. I donate a lot of candles to fundraising events for families going through the same crisis as we have. I also create scents and special labels for families to sell their “own” special candle as a fundraiser.
The worst of it is over for us, but the financial burden is a daily thing. For Rilynn, her immune system has to be protected and at this time she is not able to go to school. Her mom is forced to homeschool her (This is a blessing 😊) She has multiple trips to the hospital for all sorts of appointments, and she has weekly labs. Her medication is endless. She has issues with her eyes due to chemo and procedures. It just never goes away for these families. And therefore I hope I can continue to grow this business to not only help with my family, but others also.
We are a big supporter of COTA – Children’s Organ Transplant Association (www.cota.org) COTA helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. Rilynn Rose Candles is one of the options that COTA families have for a fundraiser. COTA helps families like us raise money for transplant related expenses. Our family raised over $80,000 with the help of COTA. They give out family support and ideas to help families raise money, and they keep the money in an account for the child and release that money for transplant related expenses only. When you are a transplant recipient, you will have life-long expenses, and as a child, it is almost guaranteed that they will receive at least one, if not more, transplants. Organs only last for so many years. The life-long expense is very taxing.
