After struggling with infertility, the Knoell's received the heartbreaking news that one of their soon-to-be-born twins would not survive without extensive surgery. But the family soon witnessed many miracles through the life of their two little girls.
Two babies, one 3-D printed model, and a broken heart. What you're about to witness as the future of medicine.
"She's Ella 2.0. She's a new baby. She's so happy," said Katie Knoell, Ella's mom.
Getting Ella and her twin sister, Livi, here in the first place was tough. Struggling with infertility, Jason, Katie Knoell's husband, had surgery and she underwent in vitro fertilization to conceive. Expecting twins, doctors found an abnormality on her 24-week ultrasound. "Her heart was on the wrong side of her chest," Katie Knoell said.
It's an exceedingly rare condition; one her cardiologist had never seen before. A hole in her heart and crisscross ventricular valve connections. Despite all this, these soon-to-be parents were strangely calm. "We just felt like we had so many miracles come up to get her here that it just had to play out well for us," she said.