Help Kyle, Kristin, & Karlea

Kyle Gray & Kristin Marshburn grew up in Burgaw and Hampstead, NC. Together they own and operate Wilmington Modern, LLC and Seaside Stumpbusters, LLC.

At 17 weeks pregnant, Kristin’s water broke. She was diagnosed Oligohydramnios caused by Preterm Premature Rupture of the Membranes (PPROM). This is rare in the second trimester and she was told that her chance to make it to viability, 23 weeks, and the development of Karlea’s lungs was almost non existent. Her best option was to “interrupt her pregnancy.” Despite having no fluid, ultrasound techs could still see all of Karlea’s organs growing and functioning correctly. She had a strong heartbeat, great blood flow, moved more than she was supposed to be able to, and would wave at the ultrasound screen. Karlea was already proving to be a fighter and defying the odds of science.

After prayer, Kyle & Kristin moved their care to the maternal fetal specialists of UNC Chapel Hill.

Kristin was admitted to the UNC Women’s Antepartum Unit on January 30th for 30 days. She delivered Karlea, 75 days after rupture, on February 25th weighing 2 pounds 1 ounces and 13 inches long. Karlea was three months and 5 days premature. 

Both of her lungs collapsed shortly after delivery. Right and left chest tubes were put in and she was intubated on the highest level of ventilation, the Jet Vent. In about a week, both chest tubes were successfully removed and Karlea was brought down to a conventional ventilator on minimal settings. When Karlea was 2 1/2 weeks old, she was extubated and put on NAVA ventilation before moving to Bubble CPAP at only 21 days old! Karlea’s doctors are “shocked and very surprised” at how well she has done. “We love to be wrong and we were very wrong with this fighter,” they told Kristin. They contribute her leaps and bounds to how much time mama and daddy are able to spend with her, even getting to do skin to skin holding everyday! She’s tolerated her nutrition very well and gets bigger everyday. Her lungs did develop in utero and they’ve been told to plan to be in the NICU until June where Karlea will grow  bigger and stronger with a main focus on continuing her lung development.