Meet Bert's Big Adventure Kid Kendell!

Summary

The Bert Show – "Meet Bert's Big Adventure Kid Kendell!"

Date: February 19, 2026

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Episode Overview

This heartwarming episode of The Bert Show spotlights Kendell, a remarkable child selected for Bert’s Big Adventure 2026, and her extraordinary family. The core of the episode is an interview with Kendell, her parents Phoebe and Carv, and her younger brother Cairo, sharing their emotional and dramatic journey—highlighting Kendell’s premature birth, her parents' resilience as young caregivers, and how the community comes together to support kids with unique challenges. The conversation crescendos with a surprise announcement: Kendell’s invitation as a VIP guest to the Barbie Dream Fest, courtesy of Mattel.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bert’s Big Adventure: Context & Fundraising

• The team celebrates the 23rd Bert’s Big Adventure trip in the foundation’s 24th year. (01:31)
• They encourage listeners to contribute $5 to help cover costs for families during the Disney trip (snacks, drinks, etc.), with donations matched by Zaxby’s.
  • Memorable Quote:
    • “Popcorn. $14.30 for a souvenir bucket... Mickey pretzel is gonna run you about nine bucks.” – Bert (02:30–02:45)

2. Introducing Kendell’s Family

• Host Bert introduces Kendell and her family: mom Phoebe, dad Carv, brother Cairo (03:48).
• Their Wild Start:
  • Phoebe and Carv find out Phoebe is pregnant on a Tuesday and have Kendell on Friday (at only 24 weeks gestation).
  • Both parents were teenagers at the time: Phoebe was 17 about to turn 18, Carv was 19.
• Unique Moment:
  • After giving birth, Phoebe went right back to her college classes, visiting Kendell in NICU before and after school.
  • Quote:
    • “I had my bands on and everything…and just…do my classes, go see her after classes, and then go home after that and just do that every day.” – Phoebe (06:39)

3. Kendell's Early Days and Medical Journey

• Premature Birth:
  • Kendell was born at 24 weeks, weighing only 1 pound, 3 ounces. (06:01)
  • She faced serious odds: doctors warned she likely wouldn’t walk, talk, or breathe on her own (08:24).
  • Diagnosed with grade three brain bleed and later cerebral palsy.
  • Parental Perspective:
    • “Doctors don’t know what God knows, right? And she is a living example. What a miracle.” – Bert (09:04)
  • Kendell spent about five months in the NICU; Phoebe and Carv credit the medical team at Gwinnett Medical for guidance and support (07:38).

4. Bringing Kendell Home & Young Parenthood

• The family shares the surreal, terrifying experience of finally taking Kendell home after months in the hospital — on New Year’s Eve (10:04).
• They relied on a strong support system, including therapist visits and friends who stayed overnight to help them transition (10:40).

5. Kendell's Personality and Dreams

• Excited for Disney:
  • When asked what she's most excited for — “Everything!” – Kendell (11:10)
  • Especially meeting all the Disney princesses (11:19–11:28).
• Barbie Obsession:
  • Kendell loves Barbie and dreams of owning a 3D printer to make wheelchairs for her dolls.
  • Quote:
    • “That would be so cool, because…that’s kind of important because you have a chair to help you get around, right?” – Host (11:49)

6. Surprise from Mattel: Barbie Dream Fest VIP

• Nancy Molenda, Vice President of Global Corporate Events & Philanthropy at Mattel, appears via video to invite Kendell and her family as VIP guests at Barbie Dream Fest in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (12:43–13:41).
  • Offers full VIP treatment: flights, hotel, spending money, plus bins of new Barbies for Kendell’s collection (13:41–15:16).
  • Quote:
    • “We, Mattel and Mattel Philanthropy, would love to invite you and your family to join us as a VIP guest coming up next month at the Barbie Dream Fest in Fort Lauderdale, Florida…We’re going to give you the best Barbie experience you can ever imagine.” – Nancy Molenda (12:43)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Cost of Disney Snacks:
  “It’s bread and salt. It’s what they were eating in the depression.” – Bert, riffing on the price of pretzels (02:54)
• On NICU Survival:
  “What they can do at hospitals now in NICU with a 1 pound baby, I mean, 20 years ago, we’re talking about a very different story.” – Bert (06:06)
• On Parental Determination:
  “We always had hope that she was gonna be okay.” – Phoebe (09:21)
• On the Miracle of Kendell:
  “She is the definition of perseverance, and she is the definition of ‘I’m going to show you.’” – Kristin (08:46)
• On Inclusion in Play:
  “When they heard about you wanting to 3D print wheelchairs for your Barbies, they were like, absolutely. We need this girl to be at the Barbie Dream Fest and she needs to be our VIP.” – Kristin (14:13)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:31 – Bert’s Big Adventure context & fundraising appeal
• 03:48 – Introduction of Kendell and family
• 04:24 – The “found out Tuesday, delivered Friday” story begins
• 06:01 – Kendell’s birth weight, medical challenges
• 07:38 – Learning about Kendell’s medical needs, diagnosis
• 10:04 – Taking Kendell home from the NICU
• 11:04 – Kendell shares Disney excitement
• 11:39 – Kendell’s dream: 3D-printed wheelchairs for Barbies
• 12:43 – Mattel and Barbie Dream Fest VIP surprise
• 14:13 – Barbie Fest details, Kendell's celebration

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Episode Tone

True to The Bert Show’s style, the episode is lively, unscripted, and infused with humor, warmth, and compassion. The hosts balance serious, emotional storytelling with playful banter, ensuring Kendell and her family feel celebrated and supported.

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Summary

This episode of The Bert Show provides a moving, insightful portrait of a family’s courage, a child’s resilience, and a community’s outpouring of support and generosity. From NICU struggles to Disney dreams and a VIP Barbie experience, Kendell and her family exemplify how determination, love, and a little bit of magic can create extraordinary stories.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

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[C]

It's BIR Big Adventure 2026. Well, we've been doing this trip how many years now?

[D]

This is our 23rd trip in our 24th year.

[E]

Dang.

[C]

I know you don't like the math on that.

[D]

I don't. It drives me crazy that we've been going one year longer than we have been taking trips.

[C]

If you're just joining us this morning. Yeah. This is our annual trip down to Disney World. We take with some really special kids and special families and. And we need your help. We need your help this morning with our little give. We're just asking you guys for five bucks, and I'll tell you why. Kristen did a little deep dive while you were schmoozing with everybody a second ago.

[D]

My bad. That I had to get as many hugs as possible during commercial breaks.

[C]

I'm about business, okay? I'm Standing on business right now.

[D]

Since when?

[C]

Since we are begging for money.

[D]

Okay, Got it.

[C]

Okay.

[F]

Yeah.

[C]

So we were saying earlier, you know, like, the concessions at Disney, God bless. They're expensive.

[D]

They are right now.

[C]

If you haven't been to Disney in a while, here's our deep dive. This is why we're asking you guys for, like, five bucks this morning that Zaxby's is going to match when you text the word Bert to 50155.

[D]

Nailed it.

[C]

So popcorn. Popcorn. $14.30 for a souvenir bucket.

[D]

I was gonna say, but you get

[C]

that souvenir bucket you have to carry around with you all day long, and you realize that was stupid.

[G]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

It's kind of hard to hold when you're on Space Mountain.

[F]

Yeah.

[C]

All right. Mickey, pretzel is going to run you. A pretzel is gonna run you about nine bucks. Yeah.

[D]

They're big, though, in the shape of Mickey.

[C]

It's bread.

[D]

True.

[C]

It's bread and salt. It's what they were eating in the depression.

[D]

Heaven forbid you get a side of cheese to dip it in.

[C]

Forget it.

[D]

Forget about it.

[C]

Why are we asking you guys for five bucks this morning? Little give so we can buy a pretzel. Yeah. Mickey's ice Cream Bar, $7.

[D]

We always do a pit stop at those. For sure.

[C]

Turkey leg at Disney, 15 bucks.

[D]

Those make for the best photo ops.

[C]

Chicken tenders or nuggets, $14. Bottled water, $6. Yeah, $6.

[D]

That's why we. We try to help you guys out, because we give everybody water bottles and we're like, let. Let's just try to get that free water in the bathroom.

[C]

Seriously. So that's why we're asking you guys for just whatever it is. $5 would be fantastic because Zaxby's got our back.

[D]

Yep. So text Bert B r t to 50155, or you can donate easily at all.

[C]

Right. Let's continue to introduce you guys to our Burch Big adventure families of 2026. We're going to get Kendall and her family on right now. Man, do they have a story to tell. I woke up this morning, and I'm like, I can't wait to hear this story. It's wild because Phoebe's the mom. You got dad here carved the little brother Cairo, and Kendall is our Burt's Big Adventure kid. But do I have this right? Because I'm going to need some more details on this. Do I have this right? You find out. You find out that you're pregnant on a Tuesday. You Have a baby on Friday and then you go back to college on. Both of you guys go back to college on Monday.

[G]

Yes.

[C]

All right, fill it all in.

[B]

We got. We.

[C]

We're going to be here a while.

[D]

Yeah.

[E]

So me and Phoebe met in college. I'm not college in high school. And we were being to date for around like a year at that point. So. Yeah. So during that Tuesday, I think we were visiting a little bit.

[G]

So, yeah, I was having some feelings whatnot. So we went to the doctor to confirm and.

[D]

Oh, you didn't mean, like catching feelings because you already caught feelings, but you

[G]

were just feeling something.

[C]

You know, I'm keeping pg. But she caught more than feeling.

[G]

So we went to the doctor. They confirmed. They scheduled my ultrasound for the next week just to see how far along I was. You know, we were thinking maybe just like a couple of weeks. And I started having really, really bad. I guess now I know it's contractions. So we went to. Or at least I.

[C]

It was.

[G]

Yeah, it was really bad. I called 91 1. They rushed me to the hospital.

[C]

This is that Tuesday you're talking about?

[G]

No, at that point, it was Friday.

[C]

Friday. Okay.

[G]

And, yeah. So they thought maybe I was having a miscarriage. The doctor comes in and checks, and they're like, no, there's a head. And we're like, wait, what? And it was just.

[D]

She was ready to come out, man. She's like, I'm ready to be here.

[G]

Yeah. We didn't know how far. No one knew how far along she was. So she came out and they told me she was about 24 weeks. They said we were really lucky because if she was born a week before, they wouldn't have tried to sink her because she was so early.

[F]

Wow.

[D]

And how much did she weigh when she was born?

[G]

1 pound, 3 ounces.

[D]

She could literally, like, fit in the palm of your hand.

[C]

Look, man. And what they can do at hospitals now in nicu with a 1 pound baby, I mean, 20 years ago, we're talking about a very different story. And we're always talking about NICU and those nurses and doctors and nicu, how they save lives every single day. Now you come on here with a story of, yeah, my baby was a 1 pound, 3 ounces. And it's like, oh, no big deal.

[D]

So you. You have Kendall that Friday, and now she's obviously a NICU baby.

[G]

Yes.

[D]

And then you both.

[F]

You.

[D]

You guys both go back to class.

[G]

Yeah. Like, I mean, you have school.

[C]

Oh, my gosh.

[G]

So, yeah, I had my bands on and Everything. And went to class and just. Yeah, I would do. I would go visit her in the NICU in the morning, do my classes, go see her after classes, and then go home after that and just do that every day.

[C]

And there was no indication leading up to that Tuesday that you were pregnant yet?

[G]

I mean, I had. Like, I was in a different country at that point, but, like, when I came back, I'm like, yeah, I feel like, off. Let me just go to the doctor. Yeah.

[C]

And Carter's like, well, I mean, it's not like we got to worry about you being pregnant.

[G]

I mean, the crazy thing, too, our whole family, everyone found out at the

[D]

hospital after, they're like, surprise. We're parents.

[G]

They weren't the happiest. We were pretty young. I was 17.

[E]

Yeah. About to turn 18. I just turned 19. Yeah.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

So, I mean, your world really got turned upside down, but like, in a beautiful way, but obviously very shocking that, like, this. This is your life now. And then when did you start finding out more about Kendall and what she was like, what she had?

[E]

I guess they did a good job of, like, I guess explaining to us our diagnosis and I guess getting us ready for what we are, Our future ahead, basically. And they did a really good job at Gwinnett Medical to get us prepared, because we're basically teenagers at the point child with tubes and, you know, oxygen and. And stuff like that. So just getting us prepared mentally and explain to us and I guess our parents and whatnot, just what to do and, you know. But at that point, she was still in the NICU for about, like, five months or so. So we kind of got a. A little bit of a runaway to, like, you know, understand and stuff like that. But at the same time, it's. You're still a teen.

[C]

Yeah, you're a teen.

[D]

You're.

[C]

You're a kid.

[D]

I know.

[C]

So much to process.

[D]

That's a ton to process. So when was she diagnosed with cerebral palsy?

[G]

So it wasn't until she was like. I don't think they diagnosed until she was, like, one or two. We kind of knew, though, because she had a grade three brain bleed when she was in the nicu. So they let us know that she was gonna have issues. They actually told us, like, she most likely wasn't gonna be able to walk, talk, breathe on her own. So, I mean. I mean, look at her.

[D]

I know. I'd say. Cause I was so fortunate to be able to call Phoebe and Carv and tell them the news that they were going on Burt's Big adventure. And they were telling me a little bit about Kendall's story, and I'm like, this girl is the definition of perseverance, and she is the definition of. I'm going to show you.

[C]

Yeah. It's also, you know, I use this cliche and I forget which Birch. Big adventure. Mom said it, like, a decade ago. But doctors don't know what God knows, right? And she is a living example. What a miracle. So at what point did you realize, like, okay, the doctors got this one wrong here?

[G]

I feel like we always, like, they would get really annoyed with us. I'd be like, okay, so when is she getting discharged? Or like this. They're like, okay, slow down. Like, let's take it a day at a time. But, I mean, I feel like we always had, like, hope that she was gonna be okay.

[D]

I have to know what that was like as first time parents and, you know, how long was she in the NICU again?

[G]

Yeah, about five months.

[D]

Five months. So, you know, five months. And now you get to take, like, your baby home. So you guys take her home. What was that first night like, having her like. Like finally having, like, your family unit together at home?

[G]

Surreal.

[E]

Yeah, it was. It was scary, too, because we were just at the nicu. Then one day, like, hey, you can just take her home.

[D]

Like, what?

[G]

Yes.

[C]

That's how it works, man. That's how it works.

[E]

Yeah. So that was pretty scary. Yes. You know, having to just go home and just basically take all your training, I guess you can say, and just take it home and whatnot. So that was like on New Year's Eve, so we were able to take her home, and she was able to just come home for us to watch the ball drop and stuff. So that was pretty cool.

[C]

We got. We had two premies also. And I could tell you that feeling of just like, you're so nervous while they're in the hospital, and then when they're fine, there's such relief, but then there's such fear when they're like, okay, all right, your turn. Yeah, you're like, what do you mean? What do you. What do we do now?

[D]

I don't have to take a class. I don't have to, like, what?

[C]

And you're so young at the time, too.

[G]

Yeah, we had a lot of support, though. She had, like, her therapist, physical therapy, occupational therapy, all her doctors. Support from friends are actually our best friends. My best friend from middle school and his best friend from middle school as well. They got married, so they came over and they stayed the night with us. The first night, she came home and just helped us whatnot.

[D]

It does take a village, for sure. Hey, Kendall, what are you most excited about at Disney? Everything.

[C]

Everything. Well, guess what? You know what's on our agenda? Everything you're gonna see. Everything you want. You told me yesterday. Princesses, right?

[H]

Yes.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

Is there a particular princess that we need to find when we get to Disney, or you just want to meet all of them? All of them.

[C]

All of them. We can do that. Yeah, no problem.

[D]

We know a couple people.

[C]

Yeah, we can do that. We understand that you love Barbie. Also, you want to tell us a little bit about.

[D]

Well, I heard that you want to get a 3D printer so you can print. Print out wheelchairs for your Barbies.

[F]

Yes.

[D]

That would be so cool because, I mean, that's kind of important because you have a chair to help you get around, right?

[G]

Yeah.

[D]

So it would only make sense that you have a Barbie with a wheelchair to help her get around, right? Yes.

[C]

Makes perfect sense.

[D]

Makes perfect sense.

[C]

Okay, now, knowing that you loved Barbie, how many Barbies do you have?

[D]

A lot.

[C]

What's the number on that?

[D]

I don't know. If we had to guess.

[G]

A million, maybe 10.

[C]

10 million. 10 Barbies. Okay, knowing that, we want to introduce you to Nancy Melinda. We got a video for you guys. She is the vice President of global corporate events and philanthropy at Mattel, which happens to make Barbie.

[H]

Today from the world's largest toy fair in New York City, where we are showing all of our fans the best of Barbie, which I know is also your favorite brand as well. And that then leads me to an even bigger surprise as to why I'm calling, because we, Mattel and Mattel Philanthropy, would love to invite you and your family to join us as a VIP guest coming up next month at the Barbie Dream Fest in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. So we are thrilled to see you there. We can't wait. We're going to give you the best Barbie experience you can ever imagine. Because at Mattel, we play it forward to the best brand ambassadors, the best fans, just like you, Kendall. And we can't wait to see you.

[C]

So you guys are going to Barbie Dream Festival in Fort Lauderdale as vip. Barbie over there. Barbie over there. Barbie over there. It's all Barbie all weekend long. And there's more.

[D]

So, just so you know, again, that was Nancy Melinda. She's the Vice president, Global Corporate Events and Philanthropy at Mattel, the makers of Barbie. We have some giant bins. You have. You are now adding to your Barbie collection. Kendall we have Barbies on Barbies on Barbies.

[F]

Yay.

[D]

Yeah. So, yeah, you guys are going to be VIP guests at Barbie Dream Festival in Fort Lauderdale. So this is a three day, high energy, multisensory celebration of limitless possibilities. From the moment you arrived, Kendall, you're going to be immersed in a world where creativity, music, and fashion collide. There's interactive play zones, larger than life photo ops, Barbie's iconic dream house, Barbie fashion shows, totally hair, glam bars. And yeah, Mattel just really wanted you to know that they realize play isn't a luxury, it's a necessity. And they're also, they know how important representation is. So when they heard about you wanting to 3D print wheelchairs for your Barbies, they were like, absolutely. We need this girl to be at the Barbie Dream Fest and she needs to be our vip. So. And just so you know, they are taking care of everything. So we're going to take care of your flights, your hotel accommodations, and we're also going to give you a little extra spending money so you can find yourself some. Some more Barbies at the Barbie Festival.

[A]

Yay.

[C]

Hey, you guys, welcome to Burt's Big Adventure. You guys are part of our family now. All right? Have a great time in Fort Lauderdale. Send us a whole bunch of pictures and enjoy that weekend. Okay?

[G]

Thank you so much.

[C]

All right. All right, coming up here in just a couple of seconds. We love to share Burt's big adventure success stories. We got one for you next with Isaac. We're all going to celebrate with Isaac next.

[B]

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[F]

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[B]

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