Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
Preparing to welcome a new life into the world is an exciting time. There are seemingly a thousand things to do and get ready for and it seems as if it will never be done in time. Add to that, the knowledge that it won't be just one new person, but twins and the excitement can turn into near panic. Then, when those twins decide to make their entrance nearly two and a half months early, that excitement can quickly turn into unimaginable fear. Add to that, one of the twins begins to have serious medical problems and that fear can quickly become terror. That is exactly what Samantha Miley, of Hahira, Ga., experienced when her twin girls, Kayleigh and Rayleigh, were born on Oct. 23, of last year. Samantha is the daughter-in-law of Madison County resident, Denise Miley.
About two days after being born, it was discovered that Kayleigh had perforations in her intestines. She was rushed from Phoebe Putney Hospital in Albany, Ga., to Macon Children's Hospital, in Macon, Ga. She had approximately nine centimeters of her bowel removed, then a week later, more perforations were discovered; resulting in another four centimeters needing to be removed. Little Kayleigh was going to need another surgery performed in order to repair her intestines. Before that could be accomplished, she would need to almost double her body weight from the two pounds, three ounces she weighed at birth to nearly five and a half pounds. This proved to be a difficult task, since Kayleigh's little body simply was not holding any nutrients. The decision was made to perform surgery if Kayleigh could get her weight up to four and a half pounds.On Friday, Jan. 22, surgery was successfully performed to repair and re-attach Kayleigh's intestine. According to her mom, Kayleigh is doing well and hopes to be home soon. Kayleigh has been in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Phoebe Putney Hospital and Macon Children's Hospital for a total of 96 days, as of this writing. Twin sister Rayleigh was in the NICU at Phoebe Putney Hospital for 50 days.
One can only imagine the toll this has taken on the family. Not only the hospital and doctor bills, but the extra expense of having an infant in two different hospitals and the cost of staying away from home during this time. Not to mention the emotional hardship this must have been. A "GoFundMe" account has been established in order to assist the young family. To contribute, please go to https://gofund.me/09a6ecf2.
"If anything maybe our story will encourage somebody else going through something similar, or even the NICU life with their baby/babies," said Samantha. "There is a light at the end of the tunnel. It may be itty bitty right now but it's there!"
Samantha is married to JD Miley. JD is the son and step-son of Jack and Denise Miley.