Identical twins from Iowa who broke a world record for most premature twins after they were born at just 22 weeks and one day have defied the odds and are now 3 1/2 years old and loving life. Mom of four Jade Ewoldt welcomed her twins, Keeley and Kambry, on Nov. 24, 2018. Her original due date was March 29, 2019, but after finding out that her babies had twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) at 16 weeks, she gave birth 125 days early.
“I was exhausted and really scared; I had never seen a baby so small,” Jade told The Epoch Times. “Now, knowing how far they’ve come, I still don’t believe it.”“I believe witnessing their survival was God performing two miracles before my eyes,” she said.
“The doctors were very optimistic; they believe all babies have a fighting chance with specialized medical care,” said Jade. “They treat babies born at 22 weeks and one day as if they will survive. They give them the care they need.” Neonatologist and NICU medical director at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Dr. Jonathan Klein, told Guinness World Records: “We look at a 22-week baby no different than a critically-ill adult.”He also added that the medical team expects such children to survive and thrive. Even though the road to recovery was going to be long, the health care professionals remained really hopeful.
After the birth of the twins, for the five months that followed, the mother of four split her time between caring for her two older kids, Koy and Kollins, at home and the twins at Stead Family Children’s Hospital. She would spend 2 1/2 hours every day seeing her twins.
After coming home, both girls, who suffer from chronic lung disease and severe BPD (bronchopulmonary dysplasia), were put on oxygen for their ongoing care. The twins spent two years on oxygen at home and were admitted to the hospital six times for treatments and a 10-day PICU stay for Kambry. Both of them currently use inhalers daily to keep up with their lung disease and BPD. They also continue to see their lung doctor every year and will for the foreseeable future. Additionally, Keeley lives with eye conditions that she developed—retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)—after premature birth. Meanwhile, Kambry received four new diagnoses in the spring of 2021: cerebral palsy with poor gait control, autism, oral aversion, and sensory processing disorder. In the last six months, they have also suffered from colds many times, but have managed to recover without resorting to any medication.
Jade is keen for her girls to understand as much about themselves as possible.