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Premature twins’ survival draws interest on Internet
By STEVE PENNThe Kansas City Star
Two premature twin infant girls with an unusual condition are fighting for their lives at a hospital in Salt Lake City.
The drama of their ordeal is being played out on an Internet site that has amassed hundreds — maybe thousands — of riveted followers.
The real-life medical drama surrounds sisters Mary Ellen and Mary Elizabeth Govea and their parents, Bo and Stacy Govea. The Goveas live in Overland Park but have spent the past three months in Salt Lake.
Their story began in April when Stacy, pregnant with the twins, had complications. An examination determined that her babies were suffering from twin to twin transfusion syndrome. The condition occurs specifically in identical twins that share the same placenta and some of the same circulation.
It leaves one twin undernourished while the other develops too fast. Mary Ellen and Mary Elizabeth’s grandfather is Mark Govea, a former landscape architect with the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department who is now with the city’s Water Services Department.
With only six facilities in the country equipped to treat the rare condition, Bo and Stacy sought treatment at St. Mark’s Hospital in Salt Lake. There, Stacy underwent a procedure in April that allowed the smaller infant to receive more nutrients. The surgery was deemed a success.
Meanwhile, members of their congregation, Ascension Catholic Church, created a Web site — goveaprogress. wordpress.com — to keep people informed. As word began to spread about the twins’ condition, the Web site started getting hundreds of hits each day.
Stacy developed more complications when amniotic fluid began to leak when the twins were at 22 weeks gestation. The odds would be against them in an early child birth.
The situation grew so dire that doctors considered letting Mary Elizabeth go to give Mary Ellen a better chance of survival.
“There was no way they were going to give up anything,” Mark Govea said. “That was a ‘no.’ ”
When Stacy developed an infection and later became anemic, doctors decided to take the bold step of performing a C-section. On April 26, both twins were delivered one minute a part. One weighed 1.5 pounds; the other was 1.7 pounds.
“Everybody was feeling good and fine,” Govea said. “Then Mary Elizabeth started having renal function problems. It looked critical again.”
During that dramatic period, the Web site tallied more than 8,000 hits. “People were really concerned,” Govea said. “If you read the blogs and posts, you’ll see that there are people who don’t even know them that are sending prayers and messages.”
The Web site includes a sign-up list for people who wish to donate food and meals, helping with the couples’ three other children at home in Overland Park. Details of a charitable fund set up at Bank of America are also on the site. People have even used the site to donate hotel time to the family.
The twins have been at St. Mark’s since they were born, with their parents constantly by their side. It will probably be late August or early September before the girls can come home.
Interest doesn’t seem likely to wane anytime soon: The Web site has now registered 84,674 hits.
The twins face challenges ahead. Once they are home, they will have to stay inside the house for one year while their immune systems develop. But their grandfather sees a bigger picture.
“These girls have already made a difference in this world,” Govea said. “Just look at their following. They’re miracle girls. They’ve had so many ups and downs that you have to be a believer in miracles.”