After being born prematurely, these Nebraska twins beat the odds.
Harper Jacobo and her twin sister Gabriella were both born at 23 weeks and only weighed one pound in February 2021, according to the Daily Mail.
Because of how small they were, the twin girls were taken to Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Colorado, to be looked at by a specialist and this is where they discovered something very serious.
The tube between Harper Jacobo’s mouth and stomach was not connected.
Harper Jacobo was born with esophageal atresia which is a birth defect where part of a baby’s esophagus does not develop properly. The causes of this condition have been undetected and it isn’t commonly diagnosed during pregnancy, according to the CDC.
After Harper Jacobo was seen by a specialist, it would be four months before doctors would perform her surgery.
Her doctors wanted to wait until she was full term, according to Fox31 Denver.
After the procedure was finished, her doctors also used magnets to connect her esophagus together so that she would be able to eat and breathe properly, about a month before the twin’s first birthday.
“It worked, it worked extremely well,” Dr. Steven Rothenber, the chief of pediatric surgery at Rocky Mountain Hospital told Fox31 Denver.
The first year of Harper Jacobo’s life was spent in the hospital receiving treatments but she was finally able to be discharged and taken home to be with her family.
“I believe Harper is the smallest baby ever to be born with this pure esophageal atresia to survive,” Dr. Rothenber said.
Miraculously, both Harper and Gabriella Jacobo were also born about the earliest age known to have survived outside of the womb.
The twins’ parents, Kayla Hatch and Victor Jacobo, are both grateful to the doctors for saving their babies’ lives.
“To see them breathing, kicking…it’s just truly awesome,” Victor Jacobo shared.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Kayla Hatch expressed her gratitude saying that she will be thanking the doctors for the rest of her life.
“All the prayers we just can’t thank everyone enough for being there and helping us through these trying times,” Victor Jacobo said.