‘World’s Most Premature Twins’ Miraculously Survived Birth, Celebrate 1st Birthday

‘World’s Most Premature Twins’ Miraculously Survived Birth, Celebrate 1st Birthday
12/6/2019
Updated:
12/6/2019
When the Ewoldt twins, of Dysart, Iowa, were born on Nov. 24, 2018, their simple arrival and survival was a miracle. The twins were born at just 22 weeks, after their mother, Jade Ewoldt, was diagnosed with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).

This extremely rare condition affecting identical twins, which involves the fetuses sharing blood vessels inside the placenta abnormally, can result in the death of one or both babies.

But thanks to the expert staff at the University of Iowa hospitals, and lots of love from their parents and older siblings, Keeley and Kambry Ewoldt have found a place in the Guiness Book of World Records as the “Most Premature Twins” and have made it to their first birthday.

When Jade and Wesley Ewoldt originally found out they were having twins, the couple were, naturally, thrilled. Adding two more to their family of four, with children Koy, age 5, and Kollins, age 3, was an exciting, if daunting, prospect.

But everything changed during an examination at week 16 when Jade found out about TTTS. Dr. Jonathan Klein, the director of the NICU at the University of Iowa hospital, knew they were up against formidable odds. As he told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Freedom Courier, “A lot of patients [with TTTS] pass away before they are even born.”

At 17 weeks, the Ewoldts went to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for state-of-the-art in vitro surgery to fix the blood vessels causing the issue. They came back to Iowa and prayed for the best.

However, the TTTS led to the twins’ premature arrival at just 22 weeks. Jade Ewoldt was at home when her water broke, and she needed to ride an hour and 15 minutes to the hospital. “I was so mad and upset and scared,” she told the Freedom Courier. “I was just praying the girls wouldn’t be born at home.”

As for dad Wesley Ewoldt, he desperately tried to be hopeful, as even his heart sank hearing statistics of only 10 percent of babies born before 24 weeks surviving. “I’d never heard of babies being born this early,” he said. “We didn’t have a lot of positive thoughts. They told us from the get-go this is going to be a roller-coaster ride.”

For Dr. Klein, though, he knew the twins had a fighting chance despite being born four months early. When they were born, Keeley weighed 16 ounces (approx. 454 g), and Kambry weighed just 13.4 ounces (approx. 380 g). Despite the difficulties of the first couple of days, including Kambry losing 2 ounces (approx. 57 g) and Keeley requiring heart surgery, the babies did survive.

It was complicated for dad Wesley to shuttle back and forth between his older kids, who were staying with other family members, and also spend as much time as possible with Jade at the hospital NICU. They managed to make it with a lot of patience and love, and after a couple of months, they were finally able to make it home.

Though they continue to be closely monitored for signs of lasting effects of prematurity, both physical and developmental, they seem to be happy, fairly healthy, and thriving. The one thing they can’t yet do is breathe for themselves, due to underdeveloped lungs.

“They are on oxygen,” Jade Ewoldt told the Guinness Book of World Records. It’s pretty common for children born within 22–24 weeks to stay on oxygen for up to two years. They ween the oxygen as the baby gets older and stronger and capable of breathing on their own a lot more.

In terms of personality, the twins seem to complement each other perfectly. “Keeley will be the one who gets the girls somewhere and Kambry will be the one to tell them how to get there,” Jade explained.

“They are just really happy babies,” Jade adds. “Their smile just lights up the room. You can tell a baby who knows that they are loved and Keeley and Kambry know that without a doubt that they are loved immensely.”

As for the twins’ “record” status, mom Jade is glad that it gives her a chance to tell their special story. “The world is so uneducated on the survival of babies being born this early and how they can go on to be intelligent and capable of so much,” she said. “I’m really excited to share this to help others save their babies.”