Jessica Franklin was six weeks pregnant when an ultrasound revealed that she was expecting not one, but two babies. Jessica, along with the twins’ father Zach Staehling, began the preparations that all expecting parents go through - times two.
Amid the joy of preparing for the arrival of their twins, the Biloxi, Miss. couple received news that completely turned their world upside down. At 34 weeks, near the end of Jessica’s pregnancy, an ultrasound revealed that one of the babies had a serious malformation in her brain.
“They found a little spot on the ultrasound, and I was sent for further evaluation,” said Franklin. “One week later the diagnosis was made, and I had an emergency C-section at Children’s and Women’s in Mobile.”
On Oct. 10, 2012, at 35 weeks, Carley and Chloe Staehling were delivered at the University of South Alabama Children’s and Women’s Hospital. Carley, as detected in the ultrasound, was born with a vein of Galen arterial malformation in her brain that doctors warned, if left untreated, could lead to multiple organ failure, severe developmental disabilities, seizures or even death.
Five months later, at USA Medical Center, Dr. Steve Cordina, an interventional neurologist with USA Physicians Group, performed the first of what would be three corrective procedures in which he embolized the blood vessels feeding the malformation in Carley’s brain.
During these months, Carley’s parents say they were grateful for the variety of unique medical resources available in an academic medical center. Along with Dr. Cordina, USA High-Risk OBGYN Dr. Robert Stauffer, Pediatric Neurosurgeon Dr. Anthony Martino and Pediatric Neurologist Dr. Paul Maertens all collaborated in Carley’s treatment.
“This diagnosis is typically devastating for the baby,” explained Dr. Cordina, who is also assistant professor of neurology at the USA College of Medicine. “The malformation in Carley was taking a lot of blood. Even after her procedures in February and May, the malformation was still active.”
“After reading more about her condition, we were absolutely terrified,” said Staehling. “But from the start, Dr. Cordina was confident that he could help Carley with the new procedure. We saw his confidence, which made Jessica and I feel more secure as parents.”
During Carley’s most recent procedure this month, at the USA Medical Center, Dr. Cordina and his team were able to successfully stop the blood flow from six blood vessels feeding into the malformation.
“The post-surgery MRI showed that the blood flow to the site had significantly decreased and that the malformation had clotted off which is essentially a cure,” said Dr. Cordina. “Carley should continue to develop completely normally, just like her twin sister.”
“Words just can’t describe how we felt,” said Staehling. “That was the best moment of my life. We can never thank Dr. Cordina enough for what he has done for our family.”
The surgery performed by Dr. Cordina at USA is unprecedented in the Gulf Coast region. An intervention of this type and magnitude is typically only performed at large specialty centers.
Crediting the successful interventional procedure, Carley’s parents say that with each passing day, Carley has become more of herself and has hit her developmental milestones along with her twin sister, Chloe.
“Carley’s our little smiler,” said a grateful Staehling. “Throughout this whole thing, she has been smiling and laughing and has been as playful as can be.”
After nine strenuous months, Jessica and Zach say they are now simply just “thanking God and thanking Dr. Cordina” for their healthy, smiling little girl that they are proudly calling their “miracle baby.”
