ST. LOUIS — There are little miracles every day at St. Louis Children's Hospital, but the staff's smallest patients might be their biggest success story.
Twin sisters Rylei and Everlei Barylski will be home for the holidays after 218 days in the NICU. Born at just 22 weeks and 2 days, they're among the youngest premature babies in the world -- just one day off from the youngest ever.
"I mean, these girls... There's no question, I can use the word miracle," Dr. Barbara Warner said.
Parents Bethany Watkins and Dave Barylski say they still count in days.
"It's kind of scary to think longer-term honestly because every day was so critical for so long that it's almost like you don't want to put your guard down," Watkins said.
Watkins and Barylski know the odds were against them. They still are.
"We're not out of the woods, but given the circumstances and given how far they have come, we are feeling a lot more comfortable looking a little bit further into the future than we were even a month ago," Barylski said.
Both credit their success to the team at St. Louis Children's Hospital.
Born so young, many hospitals don't resuscitate infants at 22 weeks. And because nobody's been in this situation, it's hard to know what challenges they'll face.
"Part of why it worked for this family is because it was a team," Warner said. "It was not just the medical team, it was the family and the medical team working together. And that kind of trust is really what it takes to be able to get through the NICU like that."
While they don't know the future, they do know this: their family is growing.
Not by one, not by two, but by the dozens of staff they consider family as well.
"We drove back in on Monday night and I said, 'Look, we're home' when I saw Children's," Watkins said. "This is my family. These are my peeps. We're home."
"They really did become family," Barylski said. "They literally saved both of their lives and ours in a way as well."
"Over and over and over," Watkins added.
You can follow the twins' journey on their Facebook page.
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