On December 15, 2017, Jennifer Robbins called 911. Her daughter had stopped breathing. Plagued with a history of health problems since she was a baby, including cerebral palsy and Rett’s Syndrome, Kaylee was rushed to the hospital.
“It was just her and I at home,” said Jennifer Robbins, Kaylee’s mom. “I had just done her breathing treatment. I stepped out for less than two minutes. I stepped back in to see if she was warm and I noticed she wasn’t breathing.”
Kaylee died at the hospital a few hours later. It was in the moments after the chaos that Officer Randy Campbell found himself standing alone in Kaylee’s house.
“There was something about the house, seeing the house, seeing the pictures of Kaylee, seeing all the pictures Kaylee had painted, seeing her bedroom, you could see the love and care that Jennifer had for her daughter. It just touched me,” said Officer Campbell.
He said he couldn't walk away without stepping in to help.
“No parent should have to go through that,” said Campbell.
Campbell exchanged information and told the family to call, text, or email him if they ever needed anything.
Over the following weeks, he would talk to the family and comfort them. He began learning about Kaylee, who she was and what she loved to do and got closer to the family.
“On my days off, I’d stop by and drop off dinner too just to make sure she knows we’re there,” said Campbell. “I was able to drop by over the next several weeks and months to just try to do things that I would hope somebody would do for my family.”
The department even helped with additional services and support; offering to secure donations to provide a headstone for Kaylee.
There was; however, one thing Robbins was still hoping to get.
“A memorial bench so she could go spend time with her daughter when she’s having a rough time,” said Campbell.
The department is helping raise funds for the memorial bench through a GoFundMe page.
“Kaylee was my only daughter. I don’t have any other children, and she was my everything,” said Robbins. “It meant the world to us for them to come by and to call and to email and to make sure that we are ok.”
