In Milwaukee, Wisconsin a group of extremely dedicated volunteers are raising funds for kidney transplant patient, Mira Raether.
The darling little girl, who never seems to stop smiling, and her two healthy brothers are triplets. Mira was born on October 29, 2005, and was soon diagnosed with renal failure. Doctors at Wisconsin Children's Hospital in Milwaukee have recommended a life-saving kidney transplant. An estimated $100,000 will need to be raised by Milwaukee volunteers.
About Mira
Click here to view a video montage of Mira and her family.
Mira Raether was a preterm infant number three of a triplet gestation that was born at 30 weeks gestation and was IUGR at 720 grams. Mira had a complicated course with RDS, PDA ligation, renal failure, renal tube acidosis, congenital hyperthyroidism, colitis and sepsis. Mira currently suffers from end stage renal failure and failure to thrive. Her parents administer peritoneal dialysis treatments nightly in the home. She has had a rocky course with multiple hospital admissions.
At 21/2 years old her current weight and height is well below the 5th percentile for a child her age.
This is Mira’s Story
“We reached for the stars and grabbed a handful of Heaven”
After nine years of trying to conceive, we were finally pregnant. On the day of my first ultrasound, I was ecstatic to see my baby for the first time until my overwhelming joy suddenly turned to shock when the doctor said I was having TRIPLETS! That day was unlike any other I have experienced. It went from being one of the happiest days of my life to one of absolute shock.
The doctor explained all of the possible complications surrounding multiple gestation pregnancy, including the risks for the babies and me. She expressed serious doubt that the smallest embryo, baby C [Mira], would survive. Even then, Mira was smaller than her brothers.
I left feeling so overwhelmed that I sat in my car and sobbed outside the doctors’ office. Shortly after my husband, Jay learned the news of the triplets, he reassured me and said “God must know we are ready to handle this task or he wouldn’t have chosen us for the job.” From that moment on I never had another doubt about being the mother of triplets.
We can not begin to tell you the story of Mira, without including her triplet brothers. Vincent, Luke and Mira, know each other in a way that no one else can. They have communicated with each other in the purest possible way; by listening to each others heartbeats during the first seven months of their lives.To my knowledge they haven’t stopped yet.
Shortly after birth Mira was diagnosed with renal acidosis- in simple terms the kidneys aren’t correcting the ph balance in the blood.
Despite the seriousness of Mira’s illness, from day one, Jay and I have made a point to not treat Mira any differently than her brothers. Even though they are three separate individuals, each with their own needs, the rules remain the same for all of them. They have a special bond that only they can understand, for they are triplets.
If I had a dollar for every time someone came up to me, and said “You sure have your hands full,” we’d be Donald Trumps’ next door neighbor; or on a yacht, sailing with a nanny, with the kids in a tow boat. Yes, you do have to be organized and anticipate five steps ahead, or they will take over, and very quickly! At any given time, Mira’s condition may require being rushed to the hospital. This is not the easiest of tasks, with three kids the same age. But as another triplet Mom said, “Nothing is impossible; some things just require more steps.”
We never make it a big ordeal, and we do our very best to find the good things in our hospital adventures. Remaining calm and being relaxed is the key. It is kind of sad, in a funny kind of way; the kids actually enjoy the trips to the hospital, Mira included.
She asks to go see Jackie, her head clinic nurse, at the “hop-it-all” quite often. It would be very easy to dwell on, and become overwhelmed with Mira’s illness, but that is not us at all. It never has been, nor never will be. We’re asking for guidance and support, not sympathy. That would not be fair to any of us involved, especially Mira. This is her life.
Mira may only be two years old, but she knows a lot more than most kids her age should ever know about life. She understands that she has tubes coming out from her stomach, that others don’t have, and she knows they need to stay tucked in her bra [netting], “because two year old little girls wear bra’s in this family.” She understands that she gets medicine in a way that the others do not. She understands that every night she gets hooked to a medicine machine. Most of all, she understands how to enjoy the good days, and her life in general.
We all need to take a lesson from Mira, and smile a little more. She does have a healing effect. You just never know what that little smile can do to boost someone else’s life. I’m sure she has touched countless people, many that I’m not even aware of.
I’m still in disbelief that we are parents of triplets. It’s a job we love, and one we just do. We’re not easily fazed these days. (Oh, I take that back- if you happen to call before bedtime, I’ll be the first to remind you that I have triplets, and it’s time for them to go to bed!) Seriously, you don’t have time to think about it, you just do it! One of my mottos is, “if I really dread doing it- it is probably something that really needs to be done.” Whether, that means chasing a stinky kid around the house for a diaper change or giving an injection of medications, to Mira. You have to look at it all the same, “it’s not that one thing is more important than the other, it’s that it all needs to be done.”
From the outside, you never would suspect that Mira is a very sick little girl. You may have suspicions when you hear a beautiful two year old girl that is the size of a six month old, answer you back! In Mira’s short life span she has already accomplished more than she will ever know, and has had to endure pain that I hope she will never remember.
We don’t feel sorry for Mira, and we don’t want you to either. All we are asking for is love, support and strength, to keep our Mira smiling for years to come.