Born at just 2 pounds, Kimmie spent one year in the hospital

“She’s our little miracle,” said Ashley Mingle of her 3-year-old daughter, Kimbery. As “Kimmie” sprints across their living room, she trips over her own feet and lands face first into the semi-soft arm of the couch. “She is the toughest girl you will ever meet. That didn’t even faze her,” says her mom with a chuckle. Delivered at 29 weeks, Kimmie weighed only 2 pounds, 10 ounces. She was also born with two major issues: gastroschisis, which meant she had a hole in her abdominal wall, causing her intestines to be located outside of her little body. The second was amniotic band syndrome - fibrous bands wrapped like tourniquets around several of Kimmie’s fingers, ankle and part of her colon. Kimmie had her first surgery immediately after she was born. Dr. Ronald Scorpio, director of Pediatric Surgery and Pediatric Trauma, placed her intestines back in her belly. At one-week-old, Dr. Christian Kauffman, a plastic surgeon, relieved the banding. “She was the tiniest patient I ever operated on.  Her nerves, blood vessels, tendons and muscles were all squeezed together and they were even tighter thanks to the constriction band,” explained Dr. Kauffman. Kimmie spent almost the first year of  her life in the hospital. Today, nothing stops her. Kimmie is an energetic, happy, bouncing, little girl who keeps her parents on their toes. “She has no limitations,” says her proud dad, Philip.  She boogies, twirls and pirouettes at Bloomsburg School of Dance, and she begins preschool in the fall. Ashley had such a wonderful experience at Geisinger that she decided to pursue a job with the health system. "I am honored to work here since this hospital saved my daughter's life. I carry the story with me everywhere I go, and tell everyone about the wonderful place I work." #GeisingerStories #GeisingerCaring. Learn more of Kimmie’s story and meet other 2016 Miracle Kids this Celebration Weekend in Danville or tune into WYOU for the live broadcast this Saturday and Sunday.