Kaleb Holder
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Kaleb's story:
I was pregnant with twins, when at 15 weeks Twin B's amniotic sac ruptured. The pregnancy was not expected to continue, but with 12 weeks of hospitalization and faith I made it to 27w3d. Twin B did not reaccumulate fluid, so we were very concerned about his lung development. I delivered the boys via c-section on August 9, 2002. At birth, Twin A weighed 2.6 and Twin B weighed 2.1. Twin A was named Ethan and Twin B was named Kaleb. Kaleb's lungs were very underdeveloped and he had an extremely difficult first 3 months. He was on a high-frequency ventilator for 6 weeks before being transitioned to a conventional one. Weaning was unsuccessful, so at 3 months of age Kaleb was trached and given a g-tube. Around this same time, Ethan came home. Kaleb was transferred to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit where he stayed for almost another 3 months. At one point he became very ill with a virus and we almost lost him. This was so difficult because he had come so far and was close to coming home. But, like so many other times, he fought is way through the illness and was finally discharged on January 29, 2003. It is now October, 2003 and Kaleb is 14 months old. He is off of his vent most of the time and should be completely weaned by November. He is on 1/8 L of oxygen and can be on room air for several hours per day. We are anticipating he will be trach-free by the summer of 2004. He and his brother are having fun getting know each other after a long separation! We can't wait to see what the future holds for both of them, as we are certain that there is a special purpose for their lives.
Traci Holder, Mother of Miracles
Wichita, KS
