This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way.
The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q.
Amazon Health AI presents painful thoughts. I um I can't stop scratching my downtown. Mm-hmm. Yeah, but I'm not itching to go downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown some things you'd rather type. And say out loud.
There's no question too embarrassing for Amazon Health AI. Chat your symptoms and get virtual care 24-7. Healthcare just got less painful. Mm-hmm. During Memorial Day at Lowe's, shop household must-haves for less.
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While supplies last. Selection varies by location. See Lowe's.com for details. Visit your nearby Lowe's on East 17th Avenue in Hutchinson. Eczema is unpredictable, but you can flare less with Eb glist.
a once-monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema. After an initial four-month or longer dosing phase, about four in ten people taking EBGLIS achieved it for a clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks. And most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing. EBGLIS, Librikizumab, LBKZ, a 250 milligram per 2 milliliter injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema, also called atopic dermatitis that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. EBGLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids.
Don't use if you're allergic to EBGLIS. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with EBGLIS.
Before starting EBGLIS, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Ask your doctor about EBGLIS and visit ebglis.lily.com or call 1-800-LILIRX or 1-800-545-5979. Uh And we continue with our American stories. Up next, you'll hear a story from Lex Ginger, a woman who has a remarkable journey. and is quite possibly the only person to be sworn in as an attorney in the maternity ward of a hospital.
Here's Lex. I'd always known that I could potentially have fertility issues.
So, I have something called polycystic ovary syndrome, where you have like little cysts all over your ovaries, and it can make getting pregnant kind of difficult.
So, I'd always been told that when I was starting at 18, and since then, I've even discovered I have a blood clotting disorder called factor five, which makes miscarriages very likely, it makes maintaining a pregnancy very difficult, higher chance of stillbirth, etc., very dangerous. I had told my husband early on while we were dating that I wasn't sure if I could get pregnant and everything, and he said that didn't bother him whatsoever. We were in love, etc. We then got married six months later.
So we celebrated our one-year anniversary like a month before we got married. I think people probably from undergrad thought I lost my mind for a second, but that what once you meet Patrick, it all makes sense. He's literally such an amazing person. And. It was just when you know, you know type of thing.
And then in October twenty eighteen, We decided that we would try this one month in October, and if it didn't happen, we were gonna hold off until summer 2019 because I had to take the bar, which is a test that attorneys have to take to practice in their state and become licensed.
So we tried for it, and then two weeks, three weeks later, I thought, well, This is probably not going to be super accurate because of the PCOS, but hey, might as well. I peed on the stick. And I put it down in my bathroom, and then I went about my day. I didn't even look at it. I ran errands around town.
I didn't even think I was pregnant. I didn't even, it wasn't even a thought in my mind that I could even possibly or potentially be pregnant.
So I literally didn't look at, I didn't look at the stick. And then in the afternoon, it just like occurred to me. I'm like, oh yeah, I did that. I probably should look at it, you know. Just to see, and it said pregnant, and I was just over the moon.
First thing is I did is I called my doctor and they said, okay, we want you to come in today, Friday, and do a blood work test and then come back in Monday and I believe Wednesday and then we're gonna see the levels of your blood work. Pregnant women have something called HCG, it's the pregnancy hormone and you should see it double every 48 hours. They told me because, you know, it was so early on, they felt like it might be a chemical pregnancy, and they didn't want me to get my hopes up. I went and did the test and it was 200. And then I went back again and it more than doubled.
It was 800. And I remember like the third time it was like 1,400. And I remember asking the woman on the phone, I'm like, is this okay? Is this, is this normal? I'm like a little nervous.
And she said, oh no, this is great. This is like a really healthy pregnancy. It's not a chemical pregnancy whatsoever.
So we're gonna set you in for your first, you know, ultrasound appointment at six weeks. And we went to it, and on the screen, we saw one yolk sack, and we saw, you know, what appeared to be just one baby on the screen, as we thought and expected. And I remember the doctor saying, wow, this is just the strongest fetal heartbeat. I almost want to ask the other doctors to come in and hear it because it's so amazing how strong it is.
So we look at the screen, everything's looking healthy, everything's looking great, strong heartbeat, we're excited. I'd been feeling really great at this point. I thought, oh, I got away with not getting morning sickness, it runs in my family. I woke up at, I remember it was dead on the money, seven weeks. I could hardly open my eyes.
Like, they felt like they were shut. For a couple of days I wasn't able to even keep down water.
So I called my doctor's office. And they told me, Hey, we can give you a prescription for the medication, but we really want to see you at least to pick up the prescription, maybe just, you know, have a look over you. But it should be no big deal. We have an appointment in an hour. I told my husband Pat, you know, I have this nausea check-in.
The doctor's office was across the street from her house. I said, please, he's an attorney. He had court every morning. I said, please do not come to this appointment. I don't want you missing work for it.
It's just a prescription pickup.
So I go to the doctor's office with big sunglasses on and a solo cup full of ginger ale. And the doctor saw me and they're like, you know what? You look. You look really bad. Let me just give you a quick ultrasound and make sure that everything's okay with the baby because I know you've been throwing up so much and you look dehydrated.
You might need an IV, et cetera. And she starts with the ultrasound, and I feel like at the time, it just was taking a really long time. And she just seemed like she was concentrating so hard on the screen. and I started kinda getting a little nervous. And the doctor After minutes.
Minutes of minutes, looks at me. and says, do you know you're having twins? Like in shock. And I look at her and I just say, Oh no, I'm not. And she says, Yes, you are.
And I said, No, I'm not. And she said, Yes, you are. And I said, There is no way. I was just here last week and there was one and they don't multiply like that. What are you talking about?
And she's still like looking and looking and looking and looking at the screen. And she looks just so concerned. And the way she was talking to me was just not in like a happy, positive, like, oh my gosh, you're having twins. It was like, you're having twins. And I'm like, And I said, are they conjoined?
And she looks at me and says, they might be. Let me explain. Twins normally each have their own yolk sac and there's just one here, but there's clearly two heartbeats.
So they're either conjoined or there's something called monoamniotic, monochrionic twins that are not conjoined. You know, I obviously start asking her questions because I'm thinking, okay, there's a chance that they're not gonna join. Mano, mano, that doesn't seem so bad. Like, I don't even know what that really means. And She tells me, well, monoamniotic, monochoriotic means that your twins have one placenta and they're in the same sac together.
And I looked at her and I'm like, okay, you know, still not really understanding. I said, okay, well. How many times do you see this a year? You know, what's the prognosis, so to speak? And she looks at me and she says, I've never seen this in my entire career.
And then she kind of walked away to this cabinet and pulls out a medical textbook, flicks it open. I joke and say, I feel like she blew dust off of it. That's what it felt like. But she flips to the peg and says, you know, there's three sentences. on monoamniotic monochorionic twins.
You are 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 60,000 pregnancies a year in the United States. They have a 50% chance of surviving the first trimester. If your pregnancy makes it past 12 weeks in the second trimester, you have about a 30% chance of miscarriage. Whereas the average chance of miscarriage is about 1 to 5%.
So it's very dangerous, and really the likelihood that you're going to make it past 12 weeks is pretty slim.
Meanwhile, my husband's not there. This is a lot of information to take in. I start crying. And I'm just bawling my eyes out. I had left my phone in the car in my haze of feeling so sick.
And I was just Practically going to have a panic attack, to be honest with you. And the doctor just starts explaining that they're so dangerous because. Twins are usually in separate sacks, and that's what really keeps them safe. It keeps them from compressing. It keeps their umbilical cords from tangling.
It keeps them from doing all kinds of things. Like, twins aren't actually supposed to touch skin to skin in the womb. They're not supposed to be able to hold hands or hug or anything, because all of those things are just so dangerous. Just telling me all this information, I'm just like mind-blown. It's a lot for me to take.
And I remember my doctor, who's a very stoic woman, says, Can I give you a hug? And I was like, oh no. Mentally, because I'm like, she's not a hugger type, and if she's hugging me, this isn't good.
So she's she starts hugging me. I'm crying. And she tells me that I need to see something called a maternal fetal medicine specialist. but they won't see anyone until 14 weeks. And that they're not going to be able to know whether they're conjoined or mono-mano really until then.
My doctor said that her office was going to start doing weekly demise checks every single week until 14 weeks to see if the twins were still alive or not, up until I was at 14 weeks. I felt floored. And you've been listening to Lex Ginger's story. of her pregnancy. And it's one of the greatest moments in a couple's life.
when they find out that there's a baby. And it's also one of the most worrisome moments. of a life. Will the baby be healthy? Will the baby survive?
We've done a lot of segments on miscarriage here on this show because it's real and the grief is profound. And Ronald Reagan signed into law the Infant Loss Bill. in 1984, and he called it one of his most important. just to give recognition to what happens to women and their husbands. when a baby is lost.
In the womb. When we come back, More of the story of Lex Ginger's story, What Happens Next. Here. on our American stories. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans.
It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years. And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues.
Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q. That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. When Kohler, the global design leader in luxurious kitchen and bath products, came to me and said, Martha, we need an ambassador for our timeless, elegant, durable cast iron products. I said, I'm in.
Now let me see the factory. Weeks later I was suited up in coveralls and work boots, walking through their Kohler, Wisconsin, cast iron foundry. I stood next to the molten iron furnace. saw the hand applying enamel. and touched the gorgeous finished products waiting to be sent out into the world.
Since 1883, Kohler cast iron products have been forged and finished by the incredible craftspeople right in Kohler, Wisconsin. I'll tell you, I gained a new found respect and appreciation for Kohler's cast iron craftsmanship.
So now I am lending my discerning staff of approval to my most beloved Kohler cast iron products. for their durability, beauty, and timelessness. Shop my Kohler cast iron favorites curated on kohler.com. bring the warmth, character, and enduring style of these timeless products into your kitchens and bathrooms. As the Kohler Cast Iron Ambassador, I say, Long live Cast Iron.
Amazon Pharmacy presents painful thoughts. Of course, I see my co-worker in light at the pharmacy. Can he tell I'm picking up prescription hemorrhoid cream? I'm probably standing weird. Why is he smiling?
He knows. He's gonna call me Hemroid Lloyd tomorrow. I know it. I gotta quit my job.
Next time, avoid awkward conversations and get fast-free delivery with Amazon Pharmacy. Healthcare just got less painful. Eczema isn't always obvious, but it's real. And so is the relief from EBGLIS. After an initial dosing phase, about 4 in 10 people taking EBGLIS achieved itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks.
And most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing. EBGLIS Libricizumab LBKZ, a 250 milligram per 2 milliliter injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema. Also called atopic dermatitis that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. EBGLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to EBGLIS.
Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with EBGLIS. Before starting EBGLIS, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection.
Searching for real relief? Ask your doctor about EBGLIS and visit ebglis.lily.com or call 1-800-LILLIRX or 1-800-545-5979. And we continue with Lex Ginger's story. And we're about to hear what happens next after hearing.
Well, it's just the worst possible news. A woman could hear And worse. her husband who wanted to be there. He wasn't there, and she didn't even have a phone nearby. Let's pick up where we last left off.
I get my phone that I left in my car and I call my husband, bawling my eyes out. He's probably confused. And he immediately takes off from work, meets me at the house. I'm just curled up in bed crying, and he's, you know, holding me and just telling me everything's gonna be alright. It was just a lot to take, because the thing about mono-mono twins, too, is that if they were to demise, which is the medical term for, you know.
Twin death, it's any moment because the tangling, the compressing, it can be minute by minute. It's not something that you can predict and it's not something you're going to feel. And it was just. A feeling of overwhelming sadness, and I just felt like there's no way I'm gonna even make it past 12 weeks. How sad is this?
And I'm just crying, and Pat was like, You know, she says it's 50%. Like, you're thinking 50% negative, but there's 50% of cases that can make it. And, like, why not us? I ended up making it to 14 weeks. At this point, we had already had received the results for the gender of the twins.
Another interesting thing about Mano-Mano twins is. That 75% of the pregnancies are girls, and monomonotwins are always identical. They don't know why monomonotwins are overwhelmingly girls, but the theory is that the female fetuses are stronger and can withhandle the tangling and the compressing better than boy fetuses, so to speak. But I was just, I was so sad, and I was like, it'll just make it tougher if I know the gender and I miss Carrie, and I'm just gonna be so sad. At this point, I remember it was my sadness was so bad that my husband would leave for work and I would be in bed and he'd get back home and I would be in the same spot.
I hadn't moved. And it also doesn't help if you're so morning sick.
Meanwhile, All of this is going on, I'm studying for the bar to become a licensed attorney, which is one of the most stressful times in a young attorney's life, just in general.
So my husband was like, you really need to start seeing a therapist that, potentially, like a trauma therapist that can walk you through this and help you reframe things. And so that's what I did. Really put me in a better mind frame. I started to delve into the bar study because I felt like it was a good distraction and it helped me get to those like appointments to appointments. I almost felt like I lived for those weekly appointment checks.
And it actually helps sitting for the bar. I don't know how many people say like sitting for a bar is a treat, but for me, it was a great distraction.
So we made it to 14 weeks, which was gonna be the MFM appointment.
So since we made it to 14 weeks, we decided like, let's do the gender. Like we made it this far. And I remember knowing, I'm like, they're gonna be girls because they're always girls. And we did just a little dinner with family, and we did the one, two, three, cut open that cupcake. And dang it, if that icing wasn't blue, we were over the moon.
We were excited because honestly, we didn't care if they're boys or girls, we just wanted healthy babies. And I remember when we got home, my husband was like, okay, well, we only have two boy names ever on our list. Before we ever even had kids, we just had tons of girl names and then we just had two boy names, Maxwell and Miles. And he goes, well, that makes it easy. We got Maxwell Miles.
And I looked at him, I'm like, oh, we can't name them. That's bad luck. Like, what if they don't make it? And I can't, I don't know if I can handle them having names. My husband looks at me.
He's like, Max and Miles are going to make it.
So I don't know what you're talking about.
So positive all the time, and it was extremely helpful. Because I think if you have two people that believe the world is ending, it would be a very tough marriage, but it's a good balance. And he wanted us to have a baby shower. And I said, Oh, no, no, we can't have a baby shower. We're gonna jinx things.
What if we like lose them right before? We're gonna have to call everyone. And I remember I talked to my therapist, and I remember telling her, I said, What if they don't make it? And she goes, And what if they don't? And I go, Well, then I'm gonna have to call everyone and tell them that they didn't make it.
And she goes, Well, can you assign someone to do that for you so you don't have to do that emotional baggage? And I said, Well, of course I can. And she goes, Okay, well, then why else don't you want a baby shower? And I remember saying, I'm like, I don't know, it will kind of be embarrassing if maybe we have the baby shower and then I lose them the next day. And she goes, Is that really gonna be, you know, embarrassing?
And I said, well, it's not going to be embarrassing. It's just going to be very sad. And she told me, she's like, well, is it going to be more or less that just because you had a party for them? And I said, Well, no, not for me. It'll be sad either way.
It'll be devastating either way. And she says, Okay, well then... You take that what you will. We go to my maternal fetal medicine specialist. And she kind of gives me the news.
I'd already looked up some things on Google, which I do not recommend if you have a high-risk pregnancy. But my MFM told me the boys are monoamiotic, monochrionic twins. They have separate blood flows. and they are not conjoined. But they're definitely monoamniotic monochronic.
This is a very potentially dangerous pregnancy for the twins. And my MFM kind of gave me the bomb that I knew was coming, which was at somewhere between 24 and 26 weeks. You'll have to be admitted into the hospital and you'll have to be monitored on a schedule. It's gonna be grueling and you're going to have to have a plan C section between 32 and 34 weeks. And she said, our hospital that our group is associated with, we don't have 24-hour OBGYNs on staff.
And she said, you're gonna have to go to a research hospital. You're also gonna wanna be at the research hospital because they have a level four NICU.
So if your twins make it, you wanna have the best NICU care possible, and our team cannot provide that for you. That's a lot of information to take. Obviously, it kinda made it more scary to hear that, like, the big labor hospital in town can't take you because you're too high risk.
So at 14 weeks, I get moved over to a completely new group and I find some just wonderful doctors. But I remember my very first point with an OBGYN. Was at 18 weeks. And I remember I went to this 18-week appointment, and this doctor is. flipping through my file and she kind of I remember just kind of says it, not in a kind way, um, very blunt.
Said, you know one of your twins has a marker for Down syndrome? And I was like. No. I've never been told that. And she goes, Yep, they have a little spot in their brain and kind of just keeps flipping through the file and doesn't pause to let me process the information.
I said, okay. And then she keeps flipping. She goes, oh, by the way, we notice here that one of the twins has one hole in his heart and the other one has two holes in the art.
So you're gonna have to start seeing a fetal cardiologist. And then just kind of keeps moving on. She didn't have the best bets and manner is what I'm trying to say. She kept dropping bombs and just would keep moving on the conversation. I had a lot going on.
Obviously, it was a lot of Really tough medical information to take, but I kept just trying to stay on the path of positivity. At the time, I still was studying for the bar, and I remember when I was five months pregnant, it was time for me to go take the bar. This was maybe a week before my planned baby shower at 22 weeks. You have to do a baby shower early because you know you're gonna go to the hospital. And I remember I woke up that morning and I just cried and I said, Patrick, I cannot take the bar.
I, you know, I have been so nauseous. I've hardly been able to study to the amount I really would like. I can't, it's a waste of my time to go. And, you know, I'm feeling nauseous. I think I'm gonna stay home.
And he tells me, he's like, Lex, What do you got to lose? He's like, if anything, you'll just sit there. He goes, you don't even have to fill out a bubble. And I said, you know what, babe, you're right. And in Florida, the bar is a two-day event.
And it's three hours in the morning, three hours in the afternoon, so it's a total of 12 hours of tests taken. Woo! And I remember after the second day, I got in the car. And my husband was so, he's like clapping. He's like, you did it, you did it.
And I was just bawling my eyes out. And I said, Pat, there's no way I passed. He goes, I'm going to take you to Hibachi. He knows I love Hibachi, especially when I was pregnant. I started crying at the Hibachi place.
I mean, that was a real mess. I don't know if it was the test, the hormones, or just feeling, you know, down about everything. But I was proud of myself that I at least had sat there and had taken it.
So the next week, I had a bunch of friends fly in from all over. Our baby shower was probably 150 people. It was quite the event. And it was just like a very beautiful day having everyone together and celebrating the babies. And everyone was just so happy and I'm very happy looking back that I had a baby shower.
And you've been listening to Lex Ginger's story. And what a story it is indeed. The news just kept getting worse for her. Learning that Max and Miles, one of them had a hole in the heart, one had two. and one of them had a marker for Down syndrome and during that whole time she also had to sit for the bar exam.
When we come back, more of Lex Ginger's story. Here. on our American stories. Liberty has never been just a word to we Americans. It has guided every one of our endeavors for the past 250 years.
And now it takes form in a new way. The 2026 Semi-Quincentennial Coin and Metal Program from the United States Mint. It celebrates the founding ideals that have long shaped our coinage. Available one year only, this historic collection features new coin designs, limited edition releases, and reissues. Shop new official coins at usmint.gov forward slash semi-q.
That's usmint.gov/slash S-E-M-I-Q. When Kohler, the global design leader in luxurious kitchen and bath products, came to me and said, Martha, we need an ambassador for our timeless, elegant, durable cast-iron products. I said, I'm in.
Now let me see the factory. Weeks later I was suited up in coveralls and work boots, walking through their Kohler, Wisconsin cast iron foundry. I stood next to the molten iron furnace. saw the hand applying enamel. and touched the gorgeous finished products waiting to be sent out into the world.
Since 1883 Kohler cast iron products have been forged and finished by the incredible craftspeople right in Kohler, Wisconsin. I'll tell you, I gained a new found respect and appreciation for Kohler's cast iron craftsmanship.
So now I am lending my discerning staff of approval to my most beloved Kohler cast iron products. for their durability. beauty and timelessness. Shop my Kohler cast iron favorites curated on kohler.com. Bring the warmth, character, and enduring style of these timeless products into your kitchens and bathrooms.
As the Kohler Cast Iron Ambassador, I say, Long live Cast Iron Amazon Health AI presents painful thoughts. Why did I search the internet for answers to my cold sore problem?
Now I'm stuck down a rabbit hole filled with images of alarmingly graphic sores in various stages of ooze. I can clear my search history. But I can never unsee that. Don't go down the rabbit hole. Amazon Health AI gets you the right care fast.
Healthcare just got less painful. Eczema isn't always obvious, but it's real. And so is the relief from EBGLIS. After an initial dosing phase, about 4 in 10 people taking EBGLIS achieve itch relief and clear or almost clear skin at 16 weeks. And most of those people maintain skin that's still more clear at one year with monthly dosing.
EBGLIS Libricizumab LBKZ, a 250 milligram per 2 milliliter injection, is a prescription medicine used to treat adults and children 12 years of age and older who weigh at least 88 pounds or 40 kilograms with moderate to severe eczema. Also called atopic dermatitis that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin or topicals or who cannot use topical therapies. EBGLIS can be used with or without topical corticosteroids. Don't use if you're allergic to EBGLIS. Allergic reactions can occur that can be severe.
Eye problems can occur. Tell your doctor if you have new or worsening eye problems. You should not receive a live vaccine when treated with EBGLIS. Before starting EBGLIS, tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. Searching for real relief?
Ask your doctor about EBGLIS and visit ebglis.lily.com or call 1-800-LILLIRX or 1-800-545-5979. And we continue with our American stories and with Flex Ginger. sharing her story of why she decided to celebrate A twin pregnancy that only had a 50% chance. of making it. Back to Lex.
with the rest of her story. Yes. Mm-hmm. In the next week I was gonna be inpatient in the hospital. I remember people thought I was crazy.
So I pull up with like a palette of objects. I had this little plastic drawer set from Target. I had a little laundry basket. I had brought my own mattress topper. I had brought my own Wi-Fi diverter.
I'd even brought a little rug. I brought a shower curtain. I had brought everything. But you know, you think that's crazy, but you're also living there for potentially two months. You might as well make it a little comfortable.
And so I did. I was 25 weeks is when I decided to become inpatient. And around that time, the results for the bar came out. I had no sites that I had passed whatsoever. And then I look at my number and it says pass, pass, pass.
Your licensed attorney. I, whoo, I got so excited that my heart monitors went off. I had nurses and doctors run into my room, like, are you okay? Is everything okay? And I was like, I'm an attorney, and everyone starts like clapping because I told everyone about these results that were coming out.
And I remember thinking, well, oh shoot. To actually become a licensed attorney after passing, you have to still be sworn into the bar. And usually, these swear-in ceremonies, you know, they don't take place in hospitals, right? And I Couldn't leave the premises. My husband at the time was working at the public defender's office and his boss Julianne Holt is someone who can swear people in.
She's the public defender of our county. And he asked her if, you know, she could come down to the hospital and swear me in. And she agreed and that was just so sweet. And I remember the day came, it was maybe like a week later, and I got all gussied up. And my husband comes in my room and he was like, hey, why don't we go down to the conference room?
There's gonna be more space there. And I was like, but I, but I cleaned my room. I remember saying, I'm like, but I cleaned my room. And he's like, no, no, no, you definitely wanna come to the conference room. Like, she needs lots of space to do the swearing in ceremony.
And I was like, okay, that's fine. And I remember kind of like waddling in these little heel stumps down the hallway. And I opened the conference room and I didn't hear surprise! I heard surprise because no one wanted to scare a pregnant lady. But in the room, it was my nursing staff, some doctors, friends, and family.
And they'd all come in to see me get sworn in, which is just, oh my gosh, this is so special. And I got sworn in in the maternity ward. I have no idea if anyone else ever has been, but it felt very special and unique. And it was just a very, very cool moment. There is only really four studies on mono-mono twins.
It's very difficult for them to do big, solid studies, and the end of every single one in the study is. The only thing you can do is monitor. We really have no further information, more research needed, which is not something you want to read when it comes to your high-risk pregnancy, because the answer is there's no real set way to deal with it medically. They said that they considered me to be their most high-risk patient that they had at the hospital at the time.
So they put me in the room right next to the OR. An MFM, I ended up having quite lovely chats with him. He was one of the head MFMs, and he said. He said, you know, we have a lot of cases on this floor, but the only one that keeps me up at night is yours. And I was like, I don't know.
And we just kind of chuckled. I have that kind of sense of humor. I'm like, I know, I'm not getting any sleep either. And he would come and make sure that he was at all of my ultrasound appointments with me as well, because I think he wanted to see with his own eyes how they were progressing. And I appreciate that.
I also got very close with a resident who was a resident for an OBGYN, Dr. Dean. And I remember she had the coolest black nail polish.
So I made it to my 32 week. I had been able to for my C-section to pick up my entire team. And I remember I asked also the resident Dr. Dean, can you be there? And she said, I can't because I'm a night shift doctor.
And your C-section schedule for the morning, you have to pick morning doctors. And I said, okay, so. You know, the day comes, I'm 32 weeks, I made it to my day. And I remember not even being nervous because I just felt like an overwhelming sense of calm and success that I even had made it to 32 weeks. We walked to the next door because they had literally put me next to the OR.
And they tell you, like, you're gonna feel a little nauseous potentially. You might feel a little shaky. They kind of start prepping me. My husband's still not in the room. They don't, they don't grab the partner at my hospital until it's like kind of like game time, game time.
So there's a lot to do before then. But that's kind of scary because, you know, you don't have a family member in there with you. And I remember feeling like all of a sudden this wave of nausea just hits me really bad. And I remember just thinking, I feel so sick, I feel so sick, I feel so sick. I was like, I think I'm gonna throw.
And I look over and someone grabs my hand and it's A hand with black nail polish. And I look up and it's Dr. Dean. And she goes, Lex, I'm right here. And I'm like, Dr.
Dean, how are you here? And she was like, I got special permission by the hospital to be present at your C-section. I won't be, you know, doing anything. I just got off night shift, but they're allowing me to be here with you, like a support person. It was such this beautiful moment.
I remember I'm like, Dr. Dean, am I dying? Cause I feel really sick. And she goes, You are the most alive person in this room, Lex. Like, your stats are amazing.
She was reading them out to me. And then at a certain point, she says, Hey, let me go get your husband for you. It was time. They brought in Pat. Yeah, and they told me they're like, okay, these are gonna be 32-week babies.
So, you know, they might come out and they might not be screaming, but. It's game time. Um They pulled out the twins back to back, and if they were not screaming, they were screaming, cute as can be, healthy boys. They were born with an Afghan score of nine out of ten, which is better for even just like a regular full-term baby. Great color, great size for their age, you know, good lungs, everything.
And so, we were actually able in the C-section room to take, you know, photos with them. My husband was able to cut their cord. In the room, there was probably because each baby had two nicutines. My husband says there was probably 25 people in the operating room. He says it was wild, like it was crazy.
Miles was born at a weight of 3 pounds 14 ounces and Max was 3 pounds 13 ounces. And they pulled them out at random. You know, they're in the same sack together. And the NICU team brought them down and they did really great in the NICU. Max did have two holes in his heart.
Miles had one, but they were pretty small. One of the first things they did was do the cardiology scan with their cardiologist who had seen me. And he said, you know, I have a feeling these are going to close by one years old. Gosh darn they did. At one years old, they got confirmed that they had closed and that we would never have to for this see a cardiologist for them again in their life.
So that was like a real blessing. They were, you know. Just healthy boys, and at that point, it no longer mattered that they were in a mono-mono twin pregnancy. Uh, they were only in the NICU for 30 days, which is pretty, pretty great. And uh, we brought them home, and it's It's been wonderful since then.
Uh I think a big part of me celebrating the boys, even though we got this scary high-risk diagnosis. Is that you know, I did have, and I still do have these issues. With fertility, the fact that I got pregnant and was able to hold a pregnancy, let alone a high-risk one, is. Truly amazing. There was a doctor at around 10 weeks that, you know, we were talking about everything.
I hadn't seen her before, and she was the only doctor at that point that had seen a monomano pregnancy, but had seen it end in a stillbirth. And she looked at me and she goes, Well, you know you can just get a termination. And I look at her and I was like, well, I mean, we do know that, but we just kind of, we want to try. And she was like, kind of give me a look like, okay, like, kind of like. You know, it's gonna be tough.
But you know, I let her know, you know, we are continuing on, onward, onward, and upward, hopefully. But it was really hard, and I don't wanna downplay that. It was very depressing. When I say I refuse to set up a nursery, I refuse. I said, I cannot come home if they don't make it and see a whole setup crib.
And I can't do it. I was like, that's the one thing, Pat, I can't do.
So we had a whole room filled with boxes. And once the boys were born, that's when I was like, okay, we made it. Here we are. And I called my family. And I was recovering from a C-section.
And like 10 of my family members came over and set up the whole nursery for us while the boys were in the NICU. We have two healthy boys now. They're very different. Max is more stoic. He's the most adventurous, like he has no fears, which is obviously a little scary as a parent, right?
He just goes headfirst into anything he's doing and he doesn't think twice. You then get his brother, Miles, who is a little bit of, you know, he's a little bit more. I don't want to say a worry word, but he definitely thinks twice before everything. Like, he's just much more aware of the potential dangers around him, so to speak, even for a three-year-old. He's always reeling back his brother, Max.
Max is, you know, about to jump off the top of the playground. He'll be the one holding the shirt, you know?
So, even though they're identical twins, they're very different. Very different. They just started baseball and basketball, which is so cute at the age of three, because you know, they don't know what they're doing, but it's really, really sweet. And they seem to really love getting outside and doing that. And they're just, you know, typical, fun little boys and just and real sweeties.
We feel like. Very blessed. Very blessed. And a terrific job on the production by Madison Derricott. And a special thanks to Lexa Ginger.
Sharing her story, her husband Patrick. and her two beautiful boys, Miles and Max. It's a story about so many things, about faith, about optimism, about love. That swear-in ceremony in that conference center, just spectacular. You almost wanted to wish in some way you could have been there for something so special.
And the way the medical community in this country works, how they come to the aid of folks. It's a beautiful, precious system we have, filled with people like that lady with the black nail polish. Dr. Dean. A beautiful story about love, Burst.
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