Kyle Ables is two weeks into parenthood. He’s still learning how to balance late-night feedings and mastering the art of wrangling an infant into a onesie, skills he never imagined he’d learn as a single dad.
"You've got to keep moving forward through the day, but it's tough. It is tough,” said Ables.
It was March 23 when Ables and his fiancé, Camylle Bowen-Ables, checked into the hospital, a week before their little girl’s due date.
"She was ready for it. She was ready for her to come,” said Bowen-Ables’s mother, Amee Bowen.
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She said doctors were concerned that the baby wasn’t moving around a lot.
“So that's what started the process. She ended up getting induced, and then there were just, a day later or so, complications. And everything changed,” said Bowen.
Following a C-section, Bowen-Ables got to hold Josephine, lovingly called Jojo, in her arms.
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The baby was healthy, and Ables said they had a happy day as a family of three. But then, Bowen-Ables crashed. And by the morning of March 25, she was gone.
"We wanted to make sure we did something for both Kyle and Jojo,” said Bowen-Ables’s aunt, Shawnda Vance.
Vance got to work organizing the support that immediately poured in.
"You can never plan for anything like this, and we wanted to make sure they both had some sense of security,” she said.
Through a GoFundMe page, people from throughout Bowen-Ables’s life were quick to give. Donations came from friends, coworkers, and former classmates of the Ables at Lake Dallas High School where Camylle played varsity basketball.
"I would look at it a couple of times a day,” said Ables.
Then one of her brothers, Peyton Bowen, a five-star Guyer football player turned OU safety recruit, tweeted to his community of thousands.
And within days, the total raised surpassed $93,000.
"I've always said with kids, it takes a village. And with this, you just see how big with your relationships, with the kids' relationships, they have a huge village and you just didn't realize how big it was,” said Bowen.
The family said it’s enough to help with funeral costs and to secure Josephine’s future.
“Whatever she wants to do, we're going to be able to do it,” said Ables.
