I think my favorite stories—and perhaps one of yours as well—are accounts of extreme preemies who fight and struggle and refuse to give up.
Kimyah and DJ Jackson were born prematurely nearly a year ago. Together, they weighed in around the size of soda can. They spent 138 days in the NICU at the Cleveland Clinic and, according to Fox News, “are thriving at home.”
Born at 22 weeks, they were so tiny that nurses could not find diapers small enough for Kimyah at 12 ounces and DJ at 15 ounces.
Mom Kimberly “said she knew something was wrong when she started leaking amniotic fluid while pregnant,” according to Chris Williams. “She called her doctor, and it turned out she was already dilated.”
At birth, “the twins had to be resuscitated and intubated in the intensive care unit,” Williams wrote. “While in NICU, DJ had a lung collapse and Kimyah suffered from a minor brain bleed.”
“I saw Kimyah for a split second before she was taken to the NICU, and I just remember thinking, ‘No, she’s too small. She’s too small,’” their mother, Kimberly, said in a news release.
Seemingly every day brought a new challenge.
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“Every morning I would get an update from the doctors on how they did overnight and what the plan for the day was,” Kimberly added. “I would then go into the NICU just to talk to my babies. I don’t think there was one day I didn’t spend at least a few minutes with them. I pretty much lived at the NICU for four-and-a-half months.”
But even though they were told there was only a 10-20% chance the twins would survive, after spending 138 days in the NICU, the twins were able to go home. “The medical care staff gave them a graduation ceremony for the twins complete with a cap and gown,” according to Fox News.
Kimberly said, “I was super excited when I found out they were able to come home but a little nervous as well.” She added, “They needed to remain on oxygen since their lungs were so underdeveloped when they were born. I also needed to continue checking their blood oxygen saturation levels with a pulse oximeter.”
