Shauna McKnight | A&L Co-Editor

Residence Hall Director Emili Vondrak is a native of Kingsley, Iowa and has worked at Buena Vista University (BVU) for three years. She has a brother, sister-in-law, and three nieces, who she says all have very different and unique personalities.

Vondrak’s three nieces are very smart and love to talk. Kennedi, the oldest, is seven-years-old and in second grade. Jaycie is the middle child and is in kindergarten. Bentley is two and has not attended school yet. The three girls share a bedroom in their home in Kingsley, Iowa.

All three children have been diagnosed with Type II Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) and use power wheelchairs. SMA is a genetic, motor neuron disease, so children can only get the disease if both parents are carriers of a particular gene. The disease affects the muscles, making them weaker, starting with the extremities and working its way to the core of the body. Toward the end of the disease’s cycle, it affects the function of the organs and will eventually cause the death of the three girls. The life expectancy for people diagnosed with Type II SMA is into their teens and early 20s. The sisters are the only three siblings in the state of Iowa who have the disease.

“The girls require an intense amount of care; they really can’t do much at home. My sister-in-law is a stay-at-home mom, honestly, because she has to be.” Vondrak said. “If they drop something, someone has to be there to pick it up because they can’t do that on their own.”

“We had no idea that this was going to happen,” she said. “By the time Kennedi was diagnosed, my sister in law was already eight months pregnant. They tested the baby when it was inside her, and we found out that Jaycie would also have the disease…It’s supposed to be a 25 percent chance that their kids will get SMA…They talked for a while, and thought about it and decided they would try again. They hoped they would have a boy because then maybe he wouldn’t be a carrier, but it ended up that all three girls got it.”

In addition to the emotional stress, this can put on a family, one can also imagine how cramped their living space must be. The children share a room with their beds, medical equipment, wheelchairs, clothes, and toys. There is not much room to move around.

A concerned neighbor and family friend noticed that the Vondraks were struggling with space.

“She really did all the groundwork. I am the one of the trustees of the children, so I got involved primarily to help with finances,” Vondrak said.

Since then, the Vondraks have done several fundraisers, including selling bracelets, t-shirts, and hosting a bake sale. They also had a silent auction. Over 600 people attended a benefit they hosted last month. Friends and neighbors got involved to help make the event happen, with all proceeds going toward expanding the family’s home.

“We hosted the benefit so they could add to the house and put another room on. It would give them more space in their bedroom and more space to store medical equipment. We want to add a therapy room, so they can do their physical therapy from home,” Vondrak said.

To date, the family has raised $37,000 for an addition on their home.

“From the beginning, we really didn’t have a goal of how much money we wanted to raise,” Vondrak said. “Our goal was just trying to get as much funding as we could. We’re just trying to get materials, labor, and things like that donated so that the cost of adding onto their house will be less than what they would have to pay to get a loan or anything like that.”

Vondrak was amazed by how many people were willing to help their family.

“My family kind of feels isolated and alone because of the situation and what that all means,” Vondrak said. “It’s been really difficult, but to see the number of people who are willing to come out and help support us financially and just to be there with us to help plan the whole thing is great. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see that kind of support from people that I don’t even know that well.”

If you would like to donate to her cause, please contact Emili Vondrak or send donations directly to

KMV Special Needs Trust
Kingsley State Bank
Box 460
Kingsley, Iowa 51028

Photos courtesy of Emili Vondrak

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