Name: Rachel & Kinley Lepley
AGES: 9

Listen to their story:

Diagnosis: Premature Birth – 2 months premature

In March of 1999, when everyone else was heading North to avoid Hurricane Irene, Chuck Lepley and his wife were heading South towards Shands Jacksonville – she was in labor.  The Lepley’s had found out 4 months into the pregnancy that they were having twins, and that there was complications with one of the twins, Rachel was much smaller than her sister.  They checked into Shands Jacksonville and waited for two days, when the girls were ready to be born.  Kinley came out first, and she was beautiful, happy, & healthy baby – kicking and screaming…breathing.  Next came Rachel, she was kicking, but not breathing.  Immediately doctors took her away to start testing – they placed her on a heart monitor, put her into an incubator and began pumping her with steroids to her undeveloped lungs to grow.

Two days later, Kinley went home.   Rachel stayed at Shands Jacksonville for the next 2 weeks.   Rachel was given a heart monitor and was finally able to go home.  She stayed on the monitor for over 6 months, and during that time her hearts monitor would go off, signaling that she was not breathing, and her family would have to rush to resuscitate her. 

Now, both girls are happy and healthy!  They are still a little behind developmentally, but their doctors say they will eventually catch up and suffer no long term effects.  They are both active and make straight A’s in school.