Incredibly rare. That's what a specialty-trained pediatrician at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital (UISFCH) said about the chances of babies born at 22 weeks surviving. In this story, not one, but two little girls have beaten the odds. The pair is now ready to celebrate their second birthdays.

Keeley (above left) and Kambry (above right) Ewoldt were born at the Children's Hospital in Iowa City on November 24, 2018. They were approximately 18 weeks early.

Six weeks before the twins were born, the Des Moines Register says their mom, Jade Ewoldt, was informed the girls had "twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome." The rare syndrome had the two girls sharing blood in the womb. The next week, Jade had surgery to fix the problem.

Just over a month later, Keeley and Kambry, were born. Keeley weighed only one pound, 1.3 ounces (17.3 ounces), and her sister Kambry weighed 15.8 ounces. Kambry would lose about 25 percent of her weight after birth before she began to gain. The girls, who didn't even have eyelids yet, would spend their first five months in the hospital while their mom made the daily commute home to her other two children in Dysart.

When they celebrated their first birthday's last year, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier says Keeley weighed 14.7 pounds. Kambry was up to 14.4 pounds. The road hasn't been easy, though. In November of 2019, the Des Moines Register reported the girls were in the hospital with colds six times during the year. Only earlier this month, were the twins finally able to be taken off oxygen. You can continue to follow their incredible journey HERE.

Dr. Jonathan Klein, the specially-trained pediatrician at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital I told you about at the top of the story shares just how amazing their path has been He told the Associated Press a couple of months after the girls' births,

For 22-week babies to survive, it’s incredibly rare. Nationally, survival is around 10 percent... Many places consider babies less than 24 weeks incapable of survival. But we know it’s possible.

The twins have now been in the Guinness Book of World Records as 'Most Premature Twins' for 125 days. There's not a family in the world interested in breaking that record.

Just look at those smiles. Happy birthday, girls!

Keeley & Kambry's Tribe, Facebook
Keeley & Kambry's Tribe, Facebook
loading...

10 Old Fisher Price Toys That Are a Blast From The Past

More From 94.1 KRNA