ELK COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) – On November 1, 2016, Emily and Shawn Kronenwetter welcomed their first child into the world.
“The first moment that I met Kinsley, my heart…it simply exploded,” said Emily.
A beautiful baby girl wrapped tightly in a pink blanket, with a bow to match.
“Kinsley was pure sunshine. You know she just lit up a room and I know that’s so hard to say about a child that was so young but ever since she was brought into the world, she just made people smile,” said Emily.
Just 14 months later, the little family grew.
Kinsley now had a new baby brother, named Kipton. But only 2 days after bringing him home from the hospital Kinsley, came down with a fever.
Thinking it was nothing more than an ear infection Emily sent Kinsley with some apple juice and her dad to the hospital.
But Kinsley, never came back.
“I can still remember the minute my mom called me and said they’re trying to save her. And I said save her? What do you mean save her? She was just fine like I just gave her a hug and a kiss and sent her with her apple juice and her daddy,” said Emily.
On Jan. 15, 2018, Kinsley Kronenwetter passed away. According to her autopsy she died from a febrile illness with an unknown origin.
“I miss everything about her. I miss the little noises that she made. I miss the way she hugged around my neck and I miss the future that I envisioned for she and I and the nail salon visits and braiding her hair for the first time or putting little piggy tails in it,” said Emily.
Their world completely stopped.
“It was a tragedy, for both of us but for her…it ripped my heart apart,” said Emily.
Shawn says he went from seeing his wife go from having pure happiness, to being numb with pain.
The 15th of every month immediately became a sore reminder.
“My husband and I would just dread that day. We would wake up and we would say oh it’s been 1 month without Kinsley, oh it’s been 3 months without Kinsley,” said Emily.
Until a trip to McDonald’s and a small act of kindness showed them that they could turn their pain, into purpose.
“We just decided we were going to go over to McDonald’s and we paid for the person behind us. And we just wrote this little note and the person posted it on social media and someone sent it to us and it said ‘Thank you to Kinsley’s mom and dad, I was having a really rough day and you paid for my food and it just reminded me of the good in the world,’ said Emily.
In that very moment Emily says she realized that they could continue to fill the world with happiness by being that ray of sunshine to others that Kinsley always was. And so began “Kindness for Kinsley.”
Each month on the day they lost their daughter, they promote random acts of kindness, both big or small.
“I went from seeing her laying on the floor at the hospital and pounding on the ground and screaming to spinning it back around and making something so tragic and hard on us happy and joyful,” said Shawn.
But that’s not all that makes Emily Kronenwetter a Remarkable Woman. Knowing that one day she’d have to explain her daughters death to her sons, Emily says she was inspired one morning to write a children’s book. One that she wrote in 45 minutes.
“So my book’s called God’s right there and it’s just a reminder to everyone that in the good and the bad times God is always right there with you,” said Emily.
Always right there she says even when it might seem like you can’t see Him or feel Him. Which is why on each page of the book is a hidden lamb that kids can find. That hidden lamb Emily says represents the Lamb of God.
Best friend Johnna Pyne says she doesn’t know how Emily does it.
“For somebody to go through something like that you wouldn’t blame them if they just wanted to shut themselves out from the world or if it would turn them cold, but it’s done the complete opposite for her,” said Pyne.
Another friend Lane Patrick calls Emily an inspiration.
“You can’t put into words truly what Emily is, she’s what everybody strives to be. She always called Kinsley her world little world changer and to me Emily is a world changer,” said Patrick.
It’s been 3 years since Emily last held her baby Kinsley, and while she says that pain never truly goes away, it’s her faith that gives her strength.
“I just know that when I get to Heaven, she’s going to crawl or run or I don’t even know but I know that she’s going to be the first one that I get to run up and hug and it will be the best moment of my entire life and I look forward to it every single day,” said Emily.
To learn more about Kindness for Kinsley, click here.
