If you're looking for a Christmas miracle, look no further than "Miracle Maddie."Maddie Whipp is about to turn five months old and is also about to spend her first days at home with her family in West Virginia.Whipp is the daughter of Kylen and Lacey Whipp. Shortly after Lacey became pregnant with Maddie in January, she experienced a rough battle with COVID-19 and other illnesses. "You know, you get a positive pregnancy test, you find out you're having a little girl and then you start seeing all the bad things that can happen with it," Kylen Whipp said while sitting with his wife inside Cincinnati Children's Hospital. The couple spoke exclusively with WLWT to share their story.Whipp shared how Maddie's anatomy scan showed she had duodenal atresia, blockage in her small intestine and tested positive for Down Syndrome. Maddie was referred to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to see about surgery to repair her duodenal atresia. In that same timeframe, Maddie, still in utero, was found to have hydrops fetalis, which is where there is fluid retention in the body. Maddie's lungs were found to have collapsed due to fluid in her lungs. Her neonatal care team tried unsuccessfully to insert a shunt to drain her lungs.Her hydrops fetalis continued to worsen and the Whipps were informed Maddie had a less than one percent chance to survive even if she survived delivery."Even that week, I had even arranged cemetery and funeral arrangements at that point, you know, in preparation," Kylen Whipp said. "And so, on Friday, our local high-risk care provider called my wife and said, 'I actually think your hydrops is improving based on the ultrasound. you should reconsider palliative care.'"Maddie was born early on July 23rd without evidence of hydrops or needing major respiratory support. "All we heard was. 'Happy birthday, baby girl!' And then we didn't see her. And they just took her out of the room. We didn't hear Maddie. We didn't get to see her. And it was just the worst feeling in the world," Whipp said.At two days old, Maddie was flown from West Virginia to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for intestinal repair surgery, which led doctors to find more issues with her intestine, airway and heart. Doctors found "her stomach ended blindly without connecting to anything, her small intestines did not form, and what did form had multiple blockages.""It's been a rollercoaster," Whipp said, tearing up with emotion. "Everything has just been so up and down, and little Maddie, you know, she's continued to be a miracle, which she proved everybody wrong and she's fought through everything."It's easy to understand how she earned her nickname "Miracle Maddie" after spending nearly five months recovering from surgeries at Children's Hospital. Maddie can now take a bottle by herself and continues to gain weight."She does not have a tracheostomy," Kylen said. "And they were all pretty certain that she was going to need one. And so her heart issues, she's done well from that standpoint, hasn't needed any surgery. They're just kind of watching it. And so now we get to take our little girl home feeding her with the bottle and just very little oxygen support."The Whipps learned their daughter could go home potentially months earlier than expected. The family went from funeral planning to being told she could go home with only minor respiratory support and a feeding tube if needed."There's a miracle," Lacey Whipp said in reference to her daughter's journey. "I just get emotional talking about it because it doesn't seem real. It doesn't seem real that we get to take our baby home. She's so strong, though. She's so strong and she's so hard." "She's a rock star," Nataline Myers said. Myers is a Cincinnati Children's Hospital nurse practioner who tended to Maddie as soon as she arrived at the hospital. "Trisomy 21 babies are actually one of my favorite babies to take care of just because they exude such joy. And as they get older, all they do is they know no stranger. They know no evil. They always just exude love and happiness. And they just have the best smiles."Myers said Maddie's survival and development truly stand out in her career. "And right now, Maddie's story is kind of at the top right now of wow, she's from not from the family's just like, you know, where we're going to be planning a funeral, too. Now we're taking our baby home. That's amazing. And then when you add the holidays and Christmas time, that just makes it even more special." This year, Myers also started Cincinnati Children's Hospital's new "Snow Shop." The shop is made up of donated toys for NICU patients and siblings. Lacey Whipp took her older son, Grayson, to the Snow Shop to pick out toys for both of her kids."There's just something different about being in front of all these toys and being able to pick out a present for your child versus Amazon Prime," Lacey Whipp. "I'm not going to lie, but it was just something different about being able to walk in and pick out a present for your child, like in person and feel some sort of normalcy again." In total, 80 families were served this year through the Snow Shop.On Thursday, the Whipp Family was officially discharged from Cincinnati Children's Hospital and given the chance to drive home with Maddie to West Virginia in time for Christmas."It just doesn't seem real yet," Kylen Whipp said. "Like, I think, you know, maybe once we bring her home, it'll feel more real. But I just, I mean, this is the life that she's known. This is a life that we've known. We're excited to get her home and see what our new normal be, whatever that is."
If you're looking for a Christmas miracle, look no further than "Miracle Maddie."
Maddie Whipp is about to turn five months old and is also about to spend her first days at home with her family in West Virginia.
Whipp is the daughter of Kylen and Lacey Whipp. Shortly after Lacey became pregnant with Maddie in January, she experienced a rough battle with COVID-19 and other illnesses.
"You know, you get a positive pregnancy test, you find out you're having a little girl and then you start seeing all the bad things that can happen with it," Kylen Whipp said while sitting with his wife inside Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
The couple spoke exclusively with WLWT to share their story.
Whipp shared how Maddie's anatomy scan showed she had duodenal atresia, blockage in her small intestine and tested positive for Down Syndrome. Maddie was referred to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to see about surgery to repair her duodenal atresia. In that same timeframe, Maddie, still in utero, was found to have hydrops fetalis, which is where there is fluid retention in the body. Maddie's lungs were found to have collapsed due to fluid in her lungs. Her neonatal care team tried unsuccessfully to insert a shunt to drain her lungs.
Her hydrops fetalis continued to worsen and the Whipps were informed Maddie had a less than one percent chance to survive even if she survived delivery.
"Even that week, I had even arranged cemetery and funeral arrangements at that point, you know, in preparation," Kylen Whipp said. "And so, on Friday, our local high-risk care provider called my wife and said, 'I actually think your hydrops is improving based on the ultrasound. you should reconsider palliative care.'"
Maddie was born early on July 23rd without evidence of hydrops or needing major respiratory support.
"All we heard was. 'Happy birthday, baby girl!' And then we didn't see her. And they just took her out of the room. We didn't hear Maddie. We didn't get to see her. And it was just the worst feeling in the world," Whipp said.
At two days old, Maddie was flown from West Virginia to Cincinnati Children's Hospital for intestinal repair surgery, which led doctors to find more issues with her intestine, airway and heart. Doctors found "her stomach ended blindly without connecting to anything, her small intestines did not form, and what did form had multiple blockages."
"It's been a rollercoaster," Whipp said, tearing up with emotion. "Everything has just been so up and down, and little Maddie, you know, she's continued to be a miracle, which she proved everybody wrong and she's fought through everything."
It's easy to understand how she earned her nickname "Miracle Maddie" after spending nearly five months recovering from surgeries at Children's Hospital. Maddie can now take a bottle by herself and continues to gain weight.
"She does not have a tracheostomy," Kylen said. "And they were all pretty certain that she was going to need one. And so her heart issues, she's done well from that standpoint, hasn't needed any surgery. They're just kind of watching it. And so now we get to take our little girl home feeding her with the bottle and just very little oxygen support."
The Whipps learned their daughter could go home potentially months earlier than expected. The family went from funeral planning to being told she could go home with only minor respiratory support and a feeding tube if needed.
"There's a miracle," Lacey Whipp said in reference to her daughter's journey. "I just get emotional talking about it because it doesn't seem real. It doesn't seem real that we get to take our baby home. She's so strong, though. She's so strong and she's so hard."
"She's a rock star," Nataline Myers said. Myers is a Cincinnati Children's Hospital nurse practioner who tended to Maddie as soon as she arrived at the hospital. "Trisomy 21 babies are actually one of my favorite babies to take care of just because they exude such joy. And as they get older, all they do is they know no stranger. They know no evil. They always just exude love and happiness. And they just have the best smiles."
Myers said Maddie's survival and development truly stand out in her career. "And right now, Maddie's story is kind of at the top right now of wow, she's from not from the family's just like, you know, where we're going to be planning a funeral, too. Now we're taking our baby home. That's amazing. And then when you add the holidays and Christmas time, that just makes it even more special."
This year, Myers also started Cincinnati Children's Hospital's new "Snow Shop." The shop is made up of donated toys for NICU patients and siblings. Lacey Whipp took her older son, Grayson, to the Snow Shop to pick out toys for both of her kids.
"There's just something different about being in front of all these toys and being able to pick out a present for your child versus Amazon Prime," Lacey Whipp. "I'm not going to lie, but it was just something different about being able to walk in and pick out a present for your child, like in person and feel some sort of normalcy again."
In total, 80 families were served this year through the Snow Shop.
On Thursday, the Whipp Family was officially discharged from Cincinnati Children's Hospital and given the chance to drive home with Maddie to West Virginia in time for Christmas.
"It just doesn't seem real yet," Kylen Whipp said. "Like, I think, you know, maybe once we bring her home, it'll feel more real. But I just, I mean, this is the life that she's known. This is a life that we've known. We're excited to get her home and see what our new normal be, whatever that is."
Source link
