Support Raleigh's Journey After Twin Loss

Story

Hello, my name is Shelby Cook. Some of you may be questioning another fundraiser for our family. So I will start there. We do have a “spot fund” account, but it’s not as easy to navigate and update everyone as I would like, so we decided to switch to GoFundMe to take you along our journey. We found out we were pregnant with identical twin girls. We were so excited and scared. Unfortunately, early on, Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) was diagnosed. This is when the donor twin (for us, Twin A, Lexington) loses blood and may be smaller, pale, dehydrated, and anemic at birth. The recipient twin (Twin B, Raleigh) receives too much blood and may have a larger amniotic sac and be at risk for heart failure. There’s a laser surgery that we decided to move forward with to try and save both girls. The doctors thought the procedure was mostly successful, other than the membrane had detached. Shortly after, I was admitted to U of M as TTTS was showing again, and if anything came up, they could rush to take the girls. On 1/22/25, I was exactly 25 weeks, and the decision was made that they needed to come. Lexington was born at just 12 oz; they called her our little soda can baby. Raleigh was 1 lb 3 oz. When we went down the next day to see the girls, I was obviously very sore. We first walked into Raleigh’s room, then Lexington’s. We asked if she was stable enough for us to go fill out paperwork for birth certificates. We were told, “Oh my goodness, yes! This girl is trying to open her eyes; we have no doubts.” A half hour, maybe not even that long, a knock at the door. My husband went down first, then they came and got me. As I was wheeled around the corner, the hall was filled with people crying. I stood up, walked into the room where so many people stood, working on Lexi. Someone walked over and said, “I’m so sorry, it’s time.” Our baby girl was gone, just like that. I can’t tell you the feeling as she was placed in my arms, and we took her to Raleigh’s room for a final goodbye. Siblings came up, and to be honest, so much is a blur and so many unanswered questions. To this day, I have tried to get her medical records and have been unable, but I’m not giving up. Fast forward to July 9th, 2025, almost 6 months later, Raleigh is still fighting every day. She looks great from the outside, but internally she’s had multiple diagnoses. We’ve almost lost her a few times. This is where Brett and I reach out to you. I’m staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Ann Arbor to be with Raleigh and be within walking distance if anything comes up. I’m currently not working due to these unfortunate circumstances, and being down an income is now hitting us. I applied for temporary assistance for food and cash, and we were denied. This goes directly towards bills and food to get us through until we’re able to get our girl home. Words can’t express our gratitude! Please keep Raleigh in your thoughts and prayers; we want to be home as a family.

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We found out we were pregnant with identical twin girls. We were so excited and scared. Unfortunately, early on, Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) was diagnosed. This is when the donor twin (for us, Twin A, Lexington) loses blood and may be smaller, pale, dehydrated, and anemic at birth. The recipient twin (Twin B, Raleigh) receives too much blood and may have a larger amniotic sac and be at risk for heart failure. There’s a laser surgery that we decided to move forward with to try and save both girls. The doctors thought the procedure was mostly successful, other than the membrane had detached.

Shortly after, I was admitted to U of M as TTTS was showing again, and if anything came up, they could rush to take the girls.

On 1/22/25, I was exactly 25 weeks, and the decision was made that they needed to come. Lexington was born at just 12 oz; they called her our little soda can baby. Raleigh was 1 lb 3 oz. When we went down the next day to see the girls, I was obviously very sore. We first walked into Raleigh’s room, then Lexington’s. We asked if she was stable enough for us to go fill out paperwork for birth certificates. We were told, “Oh my goodness, yes! This girl is trying to open her eyes; we have no doubts.” A half hour, maybe not even that long, a knock at the door. My husband went down first, then they came and got me. As I was wheeled around the corner, the hall was filled with people crying. I stood up, walked into the room where so many people stood, working on Lexi. Someone walked over and said, “I’m so sorry, it’s time.” Our baby girl was gone, just like that.

I can’t tell you the feeling as she was placed in my arms, and we took her to Raleigh’s room for a final goodbye. Siblings came up, and to be honest, so much is a blur and so many unanswered questions. To this day, I have tried to get her medical records and have been unable, but I’m not giving up.

Fast forward to July 9th, 2025, almost 6 months later, Raleigh is still fighting every day. She looks great from the outside, but internally she’s had multiple diagnoses. We’ve almost lost her a few times. This is where Brett and I reach out to you. I’m staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Ann Arbor to be with Raleigh and be within walking distance if anything comes up. I’m currently not working due to these unfortunate circumstances, and being down an income is now hitting us. I applied for temporary assistance for food and cash, and we were denied. This goes directly towards bills and food to get us through until we’re able to get our girl home. Words can’t express our gratitude! Please keep Raleigh in your thoughts and prayers; we want to be home as a family.

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