Hello,

My name is Martha Swindle and I am fundraising for Michael & Lacey Padgett and their twin boys who are due in January 2022 but will likely arrive late December 2021. Michael & Lacey are the son and daughter of Michael & Tanya Padgett and Danny & Zodie Horton.

Michael & Lacey we’re ecstatic when they learned the news they were expecting a baby. Even more exciting at 14 weeks they learned that not only were they expecting 1 baby but 2 baby boys! They fell in love at hello upon seeing their two beautiful boys in their ultrasounds. Wrapping their minds around parenthood and all that goes with preparing for two, they set out to double up and get ready.

However, at 19 weeks. Michael & Lacey found out that their boys are sharing one placenta (TTTS - Twin Twin Transfusion Syndrome) and that there are risks and possibilities that one or both may not be able to get the nourishment needed through the full term pregnancy. Disheartened by the news, this sweet couple committed to prayer and trusted that God is at work. They needed to see a specialist and wasn’t sure what direction to go. But God!

Lacey was waitressing at Deal’s Famous Oyster House and was waiting on a table having a birthday party. The family and friends learned at their party of the uncertainties that Michael & Lacey and their boys were facing. He along with several others prayed over Lacey asking for healing. That same night after the prayer, Lacey met another couple who experienced the same TTTS with their twin sons. Upon learning about Michael & Lacey’s high risk pregnancy they recommended their doctor with names and contact numbers. The drawback was that this doctor was located in Miami. Shortly after that night, Michael got a call for work in Fort Lauderdale (he’s a welder). Come to find out they would be working an hour away from where this doctor is in Miami. What great news! They would be close enough to see the doctor without having to travel so far.

22 weeks yesterday and her visit to her baby doctor showed what they had dreaded to hear. The news that Baby B is considerably smaller than Baby A. They have an appointment this coming Tuesday in Miami with the specialist. They will have a 2 hour consultation regarding the procedure of which I will copy and paste below and decide what is in the best interest of the babies and Lacey. All likelihood due to results of tests from yesterday they will then perform the procedure below on Lacey that same afternoon. It is an expensive procedure and they are required to pay $12,000 up front before anything else. Crazy insane the costs! But when faced with these decisions, you do what needs to be done.

That is only the start of an expensive journey over the next few months. Being pregnant with twins is already considered a high risk pregnancy, but babies and TTTS, even more so. Lacey is no longer working and will lose her income. Michael is working on the road but will have times that he will need to be with Lacey as well in the coming months as they care for their unborn babies. Loss of income plus medical costs will be a challenge to say the least. But God!!! He will make a way where there seems to be no way.

As friends and family rally together, we ask that you consider giving to help this young family out. We may not have the ability to make all right at the moment but we as a group can help ease the burdens. If you can give a lot, praise God! If you can give a little, praise God! If you can’t give at all, praise God! We simply ask for prayers above all else. As we have read above, God is at work and all will go according to His perfect plan.

Prayers, phone calls, food, money, encouragement...all is welcomed!

Gracious Lord, You know the needs at hand and we trust You are at work in these sweet baby boys lives. We pray a peace that passes all understanding. Jehovah-Jireh, we ask Your provisions over every area of their lives be it financially, spiritually, emotionally, physically. You know Lord...You know! Thank You for all You are going to do and we give You the honor and glory for it all. “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” Luke 6:38 In Jesus name we ask all these things, Amen.

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TTTS - Twin Twin Transfusion Syndrome

Selective Fetoscopic Laser Photocoagulation (Laser Surgery)

When babies are more severely affected by TTTS, the team may recommend selective fetoscopic laser photocoagulation, or laser surgery. This procedure involves making a small incision in the mother’s abdomen and inserting a trocar, or small metal tube, into the uterus. The surgeon then passes a fetoscope (a kind of medical telescope) through the metal tube in order to see all of the blood vessel connections on the surface of the placenta shared by the twins.

After all of the abnormal blood vessel connections are identified, the laser is applied to seal shut these vessels and disconnect them permanently. Afterward, the surgeon drains excess amniotic fluid through the previously placed trocar. Surgery is then complete.

The location of the placenta will help determine the type of anesthesia used for the laser surgery. If the placenta is “posterior,” or located on the back wall of the uterus, we may recommend intravenous (IV) sedation and a local anesthetic. However, if the placenta is “anterior,” or located on the front wall of the uterus, we recommend intravenous sedation, a local anesthetic and possibly an epidural.

After laser surgery, the majority of patients remain in the hospital for one day until their condition stabilizes. Post-operative ultrasound and fetal echocardiography are then repeated about five days after the laser surgery to reassess the fetal condition. We will work with the patients’ maternal-fetal medicine specialist and obstetrician to ensure proper follow up once they return home.

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