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Nov. 15, 2005
Twins
reunion
7-year-old Rudyard twin girls return to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at
MGH;
Tiffany meets surgeon who saved her life
Taylor and Tiffany
MacDowell of Rudyard are typical, happy-go-lucky 7-year-old girls.
Second grade students at Turner Howson Elementary School, they wear their
hair in pony tails, cling to their mom and enjoy life.
Seven years ago, Taylor and Tiffany came into the world at War Memorial
Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie nearly 16 weeks premature.
Tiffany, left, and Taylor, right, MacDowell of Rudyard
sit on their parents’ laps while visiting the Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit (NICU) at Marquette General Hospital. Taylor had an opportunity
to visit with MGH surgeon Dr. Joseph Jameson, who operated on her seven
years ago and is credited with saving the young girl’s life. (MGH
photo)
Taylor weighed 1 pound, 15.2 ounces and Tiffany 1 pound, 15.8 ounces.
Due to their low birth weight and critical medical needs, the twins were
transferred from Sault Ste. Marie to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
(NICU) at Marquette General by MGH’s neonatal transport team. This
specialized team consists of NICU transport nurses, respiratory therapists,
EMS personnel and physicians.
Three weeks after arriving in the NICU, the expert hands of a Marquette
General surgeon ultimately saved Taylor’s life.
“Initially we said that we didn’t want to put her through
any more pain, but after thinking it over, we chose 10 percent (chance
of living) over nothing at all,” explained Melanie, the twins’
mother. “Because of the surgery, she’s here today.”
While in the NICU, Taylor developed necrotizing enterocolitis, a potentially
fatal gastrointestinal condition that can affect premature infants. Necrotizing
enterocolitis (NEC) involves infection and inflammation that causes destruction
of the bowel.
Although it affects only one in 2,000 to 4,000 births, NEC is the most
common and serious gastrointestinal disorder among hospitalized pre-term
infants.
MGH Neonatologist Dr.
Julia Frei, Medical Director of the NICU, said that Taylor was too
tiny and unstable to survive a transfer to Ann Arbor to undergo surgery.
“The pediatric surgeon at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
stressed that she needed the surgery immediately,” Dr. Frei recalled.
“He said that if Taylor was moved, she would die.”
Faced with the prospect of losing a young infant, Dr. Frei called Dr.
Joseph Jameson, a board-certified surgeon on staff at Marquette General.
Taylor, 7, shares a laugh while sitting on the lap
of Dr. Joseph Jameson.
“Extraordinary circumstances demand extraordinary interventions,”
Dr. Frei said. “Dr. Jameson saved that little baby’s life.”
Although Dr. Jameson had never operated on an infant as small as Taylor,
he was confident he could save Taylor’s life. Before the surgery,
he consulted with a U-M pediatric surgeon by phone.
Said Randy, Taylor’s father: “Dr. Jameson was confident. It
HAD to be him.”
“She was 2 pounds,” recalled Melanie. “People have asked
how we did it. You just do it. You don’t know anything else. He
saved her life … he doesn’t think of it that way. Had it not
been for him, she would not be here today.”
During the one-hour surgery, Dr. Jameson opened the abdomen, removed a
piece of the intestine and created an artificial opening (stoma) from
the intestine.
“We sewed the intestine to the skin, so there was no drainage into
the abdominal cavity,” Dr. Jameson said. “The child was going
to die. Fortunately, the hole was in one isolated area.”
Once the scar tissue disappeared two weeks later, Taylor was transferred
to U-M where she underwent successful reconstructive bowel surgery.
Recently, the MacDowells — Melanie and Randy, along with Taylor,
Tiffany and their younger brother and sister — visited with NICU
nurses and support staff at Marquette General who took care of the girls.
For the first time since the surgery, they visited with Dr. Jameson, and
Taylor had her photo taken with him.
“We want them to see the progress they have made. We love Dr. Frei
and all the people here,” Melanie said.
Dr. Jameson was happy to see Taylor and her family.
“It was very nice,” he said. “About five years ago,
I received a Christmas card with her picture in it. I said, ‘Holy
Cow.’ I got to thinking about that case … and it makes you
feel good. They are a great family.”
At 6 months, Taylor was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, a multifaceted
condition that affects control of movement and posture. With cerebral
palsy, an affected child cannot move his or her muscles normally because
of damage to one or more parts of the brain that control movement.
Despite the diagnosis, Taylor has yet to slow down.
“Taylor has a scar that runs from her right side three quarters
of the way across her stomach,” Melanie said. “She knows that
is her little special scar. She’s keeping up with the rest of the
children … she’s very stubborn and doesn’t want any
help.”
November is Prematurity Awareness Month, and Tuesday, Nov. 15, has been
designated as Prematurity Awareness Day. Each day, 1 in 8 babies like
Tiffany and Taylor born in the U.S. arrive too soon. In Michigan alone,
300 babies each week are born too soon and too small.
For more information on the NICU, visit the MGHS Women’s and Children’s
Center website at www.mgh.org/wcc.
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