Hope for Caroline and Lily

My name is Hallee, and my husband, Zach, and I are writing this on behalf of his brother Josh and his wife Jen Milot and their family. Josh and Jen are parents to three beautiful girls – Lou 5, Abby 4, and Nora 2. Their family is currently growing even more as Jen is pregnant with 2 more identical twin girls, due in June. Josh is a pilot in the Air Force, and Jen stays home raising their girls.

As families were gathering and enjoying the holidays together, Josh and Jen were living a nightmare. The night before Christmas Josh calls us, crying, Lou had a febrile seizure in the bathtub. Almost drowned. Josh did all he could to revive her before the emergency responders arrived. And I believe he truly saved her life. At the time on the phone with us he was just asking for prayers. Jen was in the Medevac helicopter with the responders rushing Lou to a hospital. After several harrowing hours, Lou was stabilized. Their troubles were far from over, however. Lou’s recovery has been slower than expected. She’s still not the same little girl she was before, and the family has had to adjust to their new reality.

Then, just when they thought things couldn’t get worse, Jen received results from a genetic testing that started a whole different nightmare. At first they were reeling from a positive result for spino bifida. After further testing they believe it was a false positive but discovered the twins were not growing at the same rate. Twin A, Lily, was growing normally, but Twin B, Caroline, was showing signs of slow growth. They went for weeks not knowing if it was twin to twin transfusion or something else. So much monitoring. So many hours of praying and putting their trust in God. After several weeks, they realized essentially it was survival of the fittest between the twins, and that they had TAPS (anemia in twins) and SIUGAR (unequal placenta sharing). Caroline was showing to be 20% smaller than Lily, however, as time went on that number got worse. Jen was put on bed rest as she had to make sure to not elevate her heart rate and take any extra blood flowing to the girls. Jen is also a Type 1 diabetic and was told she needed to consume 250-300 grams of protein a day while making sure to not eat many carbs. Josh and Jen sought out the best opinions from doctors, but many of them were discouraging, telling them to be happy with the possibility that only one will survive. They were hoping to just make it to 23 weeks or 27 weeks. Each appointment not knowing if Caroline would still have a heartbeat.

But Josh and Jen were determined to give both of their daughters a chance at life. After countless hours, researching, calling around, doing everything they could, they were in touch with a surgeon in Miami. This surgeon had perfected the surgery of lasering the connecting blood vessels to isolate the twins. This surgery was actually named after the surgeon, and he was 100% confident he could do it and not tear any part of the membrane. The doctors that the military had offered were not confident in the surgery. They were not confident in their own abilities to not rip the membrane in the process. As wonderful news this was, the military would not cover it. Since they were going outside of what the military was offering them, they would have to pay for it out of their own pocket. Right before the surgery Caroline and Lily were 40% different in size. As far as the surgery goes, it went really well. However, Caroline still didn’t have positive flow. The surgeon said Caroline would adapt on what she has and that she will be small but they both would survive and they will be able to go to 32 weeks, maybe longer.

Their journey is not over. The sleepless nights. The stress of everything. Josh and Jen weren’t asking for money. They had set aside money for emergencies, but this surgery completely wiped them. We are doing this because we know they are loved by so many and so many would love to help in any way they can. I think this is one small way we can help show our support and get them in a spot to where they can continue to do what is needed for their beautiful family. They themselves have touched the lives of so many and gone out of their way to not only help the ones that they love but to help as many as they could. Between opening their family and their home to foster kids in need, to the small groups they dive their hearts into, and the military community they serve and support, Josh and Jen have made it their life’s mission to make a positive impact on the world around them. Despite the challenges they’ve faced with their own family, they remain dedicated to trusting God, helping others, and spreading kindness wherever they go. Their selflessness and resilience are an inspiration to all who know them, and they truly embody the spirit of generosity and compassion.

If you are able to offer financial support that would be wonderful and super appreciated. Josh and Jen have asked for extra prayers for positive end diastolic flow for Caroline.

*The actual surgery they had for the twins is SLPCV (Selective Laser Photocoagulation of Communicating Vessels) to treat Type 2 SIUGR (Selective Inter Utero Growth Restriction) and TAPS (Twin Anemia Polcythemia Sequence) in Monochorionic (in one placenta) Diamniotic (two amniotic sacs) Identical Twins.