A seven-year-old who has undergone several surgeries in his life lit up with joy when he was reunited with his twin brother in hospital after weeks apart.
Lyndsey Dobbins, 39, from Orlando, Florida, was seven months pregnant with twins Caleb and Conner when doctors found a giant mass on Caleb’s left lung.
There were slim odds he would survive, but at 35 weeks pregnant, she delivered both twins. Caleb, who was not breathing, was intubated right away.
After several weeks in the NICU, Caleb returned home and reunited with his twin brother before undergoing the first of many surgeries when he was just seven months old, which saw the entire top lobe of his left lung removed.
Caleb was also discovered to have suffered a brain injury from being starved of oxygen at birth, leading to seizures, developmental delay, chronic aspiration, and a condition called Hydrocephalus.
All in all, and due to complications, Lyndsey said her son has had 15 surgeries to date.
Seeing their son overcome so many hurdles has seen the family treat Caleb as a superhero, and it has also formed an incredibly close bond between Caleb and Conner.
When Caleb recently had symptoms of a shunt malfunction, he was rushed to Advent Health Children’s Hospital in Florida, where, after being treated, he was having a tough time being away from Conner.
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After a few weeks of having to make do with FaceTime calls, Lyndsey decided to plan a surprise reunion visit, so that Caleb could reunite with his twin once more.
As Caleb lay in bed, Lyndsey secretly started recording on her cellphone as Conner entered the room, which immediately caused Caleb to light up.
She said: “It was the best surprise ever and seeing everyone’s reaction, especially the twins, brought me more joy than I could even put into words.
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“Everyone together was just what we all needed.
“Caleb would be facing another scary surgery just a few days later, and I truly feel this surprise visit gave him all the strength he needed.
“Not to mention the love, prayers, and words of encouragement that we have received from everyone after seeing this video means more than we can say.
“To know that we have brought smiles and happiness to other people’s lives through our story truly makes every minute of it worth it.
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“The journey with a child who has different abilities and is medically complex can be so scary and super lonely.
“So, if we can prevent any other family from feeling this way, shed light on what they are going through, and help educate in any way then that is what it’s all about.
“It is the reason why we share our journey on social media.
“We like to refer to Caleb’s medical journey as our superhero adventures because that is what we like to think they are.
“Just another adventure he will have instead of looking at it like an obstacle he has to face.”