Born premature and sharing the same amniotic sac, identical twins beating long-shot odds
By Dave Andrusko
It’s one thing for a baby to be born three months premature.
It’s another thing for twins to be born three months premature.
But it’s really something when those preemies are monoamniotic twins, identical twins who share the same amniotic sac. (Doctors say only conjoined twins are more rare.)
“The death rate with monoamniotic twins is 15 to 20 percent,” according to Katherine Clark Ross of the Watertown Daily Times.
Welcome to the world of Kenneth James (445 grams–just under a pound– at birth) and Derek Lee (400 grams at birth), the sons of Kendra and Eric Case of Watertown, New York. As of last Friday, the boys are improving, with an outpouring of help from family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers (via Gofundme).
If everything would have gone perfectly, the boys would have been born on Mrs. Case’s due date–July 4. But because of the inherent difficulty with monoamniotic twins, doctors planned a C-section May 27, after a month of bedrest at the hospital for Mrs. Case.
But, as they say, the best laid plans.
According to Ross, at 24 weeks and two days, Mrs. Case began experiencing lower back and stomach pain. Typically a woman carrying twins has about 3/4ths of a gallon of amniotic fluid.
Mrs. Case had more than two gallons! She was rushed to Crouse
Hospital in Syracuse, Ross reports, where she delivered the twin boys
next day (St. Patrick’s Day) by emergency C-Section.
You can read all the wonderful details–and the harrowing news (the boys are still not completely out of the woods).
The most encouraging part of Ross’s story (beyond the boys’ survival, of course) is how the walls at the Walter R.G. Baker Neonatal Intensive Care Unit “are lined with success stories from families whose infants were cared for in the hospital.” Ross adds
The wall safeguards family-made photo pages and some include their child’s survival story. Mr. Case said it’s been an inspiration to read the different stories and reassures the couple they are not the only parents who have watched their children struggle to survive.
“The NICU’s record for survival was a baby born weighing 390 grams, and it still survives today,” Mr. Case said. “This wall has given us a great amount of hope.”
Ross reports that last Thursday Kenneth and Derek were removed from a high-powered breathing machine that was forcing them to breathe.
“Mrs. Case said they are now on a standard ventilator that allows them to breathe on their own, but will help them breathe if they need help,” Ross explained. “This is a step to breathing all on their own without any mechanical help,” Mrs. Case said.
Source: NRLC News
Kendra Case checks out Derek.
It’s another thing for twins to be born three months premature.
But it’s really something when those preemies are monoamniotic twins, identical twins who share the same amniotic sac. (Doctors say only conjoined twins are more rare.)
“The death rate with monoamniotic twins is 15 to 20 percent,” according to Katherine Clark Ross of the Watertown Daily Times.
Welcome to the world of Kenneth James (445 grams–just under a pound– at birth) and Derek Lee (400 grams at birth), the sons of Kendra and Eric Case of Watertown, New York. As of last Friday, the boys are improving, with an outpouring of help from family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers (via Gofundme).
If everything would have gone perfectly, the boys would have been born on Mrs. Case’s due date–July 4. But because of the inherent difficulty with monoamniotic twins, doctors planned a C-section May 27, after a month of bedrest at the hospital for Mrs. Case.
But, as they say, the best laid plans.
According to Ross, at 24 weeks and two days, Mrs. Case began experiencing lower back and stomach pain. Typically a woman carrying twins has about 3/4ths of a gallon of amniotic fluid.
Eric Case peers in at Kenneth.
You can read all the wonderful details–and the harrowing news (the boys are still not completely out of the woods).
The most encouraging part of Ross’s story (beyond the boys’ survival, of course) is how the walls at the Walter R.G. Baker Neonatal Intensive Care Unit “are lined with success stories from families whose infants were cared for in the hospital.” Ross adds
The wall safeguards family-made photo pages and some include their child’s survival story. Mr. Case said it’s been an inspiration to read the different stories and reassures the couple they are not the only parents who have watched their children struggle to survive.
“The NICU’s record for survival was a baby born weighing 390 grams, and it still survives today,” Mr. Case said. “This wall has given us a great amount of hope.”
Ross reports that last Thursday Kenneth and Derek were removed from a high-powered breathing machine that was forcing them to breathe.
“Mrs. Case said they are now on a standard ventilator that allows them to breathe on their own, but will help them breathe if they need help,” Ross explained. “This is a step to breathing all on their own without any mechanical help,” Mrs. Case said.
Source: NRLC News
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