Kadelia's Wonderful Story

 

Birth of a miracle

A real-life story about Kadelia. She is a great miracle. The doctors told Kadelia’s parents Keith and Jennifer, that due to Jennifer suffering from high blood pressure, she could not carry the baby full term. Jennifer had already lost a baby and now both their lives were threatened: so Kadelia was delivered at only five months old, 24 weeks, weighing just 1lb 3 ounces, not even the weight of a bag of sugar.

Days after being born on the 22nd October 2002, there was an incident at the hospital, someone had accidentally plugged out Kadelia’s oxygen and she was without oxygen for around 15 minutes. There was a great flurry in the hospital ward; the doctors informed them that something very serious had happened to Kadelia, there was nothing more they could do, and their only alternative was to call upon God.

With nowhere to turn, Keith and Jennifer went to their Pastor’s house, Rev. Dr Curdell McLeod, and informed her of the Doctor’s prognosis. Our Pastor turned to Keith and pointed out that there was something else that they could do. We serve a covenant-keeping God, and she instructed them how to pray. She was sure a miracle had happened because she had never heard Keith pray like that before.

When her parents returned to the hospital the following morning, the cot in the ICU was empty. Her parents were really worried something had happened to her and it had. Rather than Kade deteriorating, she had made a miraculous improvement overnight and was being prepared for surgery at Royal Brompton Hospital which had previously seemed impossible due to her poor health. 

God had heard her parents' prayer! From that day, Kade continued to improve and eventually left the hospital after five months. She remained on an oxygen machine, installed at home, until her first birthday. From the age of one, she came off oxygen and went from strength to strength. 


 

Early Life 

Kade was a very active little girl who loved to play outdoors with her friends and family. She joined a ballet school at the age of six and enjoyed it, but even at a young age, she was very competitive and ballet didn't provide that for her. 

After about a year, Kade noticed her brother, Kirshon, playing in a football academy at the same venue as the ballet school. It wasn't long before she wanted to join in with Kirshon. Her ballet exam was looming and her parents said that she had to keep dancing until the exam.

On the day of the exam, she did well but on the way out, handed in her ballet shoes to her dad and demanded a pair of football boots. 


 

New Beginnings 

It wasn’t until Kade was about the age of 7, she started to participate in football more and more. She joined her brother's academy and eventually went on to be the first girl to play for her primary school football team, but had to play as a goalkeeper because they didn’t believe girls would be able to battle with the boys. This didn't stop her, she worked hard with her team and played every game until it was time to transition to secondary school.



Kade decided to go to Charles Darwin secondary school. Not only was it the perfect setting for her to grow within herself, it also provided the best environment for her sporting journey to grow and develop. She joined the football team in year seven and played consistently, pushing herself to improve. She won many awards including the Sports Woman of the Year in Year nine. 
 

From Kent County to England Cap

Kade got the chance to play for her local county. She passed all of her trials which allowed her to play for the under-14s team. From that season, Kade went on to win the National County Cup, becoming the best county in England.



She played another year progressing to the under 16s team and passed another big milestone, when she got into the Crystal Palace Development Adults team at the age of 16. She played for them until she turned 18.



Kade then moved to Advanced Player Development (APD) at North Kent College in Dartford because she wanted the new challenge of being in a new place, away from family, knowing that she would have to adapt to this in the future if she was to follow her dream to play football overseas. 


Having been recommended to trial for England Colleges FA , Kade was selected to play for England Colleges. She eventually made her debut. Further matches were delayed by the Covid pandemic and by the time they were rearranged she had already left for the USA. 


 

A fresh start across the pond 

Kade was picked up by an agency called First Point which asked her to trial out to potentially play for a college or University in the USA. She passed her trials and was picked by various USA representatives to play for their academies during profile matches at the English FA Centre of Excellence at St George's Park. She also had to take an SAT entry exam which focusses on your levels of Maths and English. 

She chose to go to Mineral Area College in Missouri, USA.


 
After two years at college, Kade wanted to stay in America and started to look at different options regarding university. It wasn't easy to select a university because it had to be a place that taught her major subject, was affordable and was a place she would like to stay. Thankfully she discovered York University in Nebraska which met her needs.


 
Since completing her first semester there, she has loved it. It was a great choice for her as it is a Christian university and she has made so many friends from many different cultures and countries.

It's amazing to see how God has brought Kade from infancy on oxygen to such a successful young lady in sports!