By Dan Aceto

Staff Writer

For Kate St. Clair, Christmas this year was not measured in gifts and toys, but by the outpouring of support from the community for her 6-year old son, Kyle. 

A benefit held last month at Portland Pie Co. in Scarborough raised more than $5,000 to help offset the cost of mounting medical bills and travel expenses for her son, who was born prematurely and requires oxygen and a feeding tube to live. 

The event was organized by Kris Foster Dean, whose son, Cooper, attended Blue Point School with Kyle.

Foster Dean said the two quickly became friends before Kyle was forced to leave school in October to receive treatment at a hospital in Ohio. She said it was hard to see Kyle leave and witness his daily struggles.

“For everyone that has kids, it puts into perspective how fortunate we are,” Foster Dean said.

Foster Dean said Portland Pie donated a share of proceeds from the sale of food to the benefit and raffled off several gift baskets. She said the line stretched out the door for hours.
  “I knew it was going to be big and it still exceeded my expectations,” Foster Dean said.

Foster Dean said she first became involved after learning that MaineCare would not pay for a flight for Kate and Kyle to go home for Thanksgiving to Scarborough from Ohio, where Kyle was receiving treatment. 

Foster Dean said she wondered what she could do and posted a Facebook message asking for donations. The next thing she knew, she had raised $1,800 and Kate and Kyle were able to join their family on Thanksgiving.

“I feel extremely grateful for the support of the community and also grateful to know (the St. Clairs) and Kyle, and be able to call them friends,” she said.

Kate St. Clair traveled with Kyle to Columbus, Ohio, in October and was there for nearly three months while her son received treatment for severe chronic lung disease and dysmotility in his bowels that require him to be fed intravenously and receive oxygen support. 

His condition is labeled as critical and any sickness or cold is potentially life- threatening to him. She said the family is hopeful he will recover, although they don’t expect him to be able to eat by mouth and are unsure if he will get a small bowel transplant. 

While Kyle received treatment, Kate St. Clair’s husband, Mark, remained home in Scarborough with their two other children, Alexis and Jack.

“I’m a stay-at-home mom, so I’m used to being involved in my kids everyday life. Being that far away has been hard. I’m grateful that we have had 10 days to be at home, it was kind of a big deal,” she said.

The event at Portland Pie marked the first time she had seen her family since Thanksgiving. 

“We didn’t plan on being there three months. My husband had to fly back three to four times so we had to get a babysitter, kennel our dogs and all of the expenses added up really fast,” she said.

She said she is extremely grateful for the love and support the community has shown toward Kyle and the family.

“There’s a lot of bad out there, but there’s also an amazing amount of good. We know that we’re going to have the support of friends, family and even perfect strangers for that matter,” she said.

To help the St. Clair family, contact Kris Foster at krisdean72@gmail.com.