At 32 weeks pregnant, Emma Wilson of New Albany noticed a troubling change—she wasn’t feeling the babies move like before.

“I had just transferred to a new job and during my second week there, I had decreased fetal movements—I wasn’t feeling the babies move like I had been,” Emma said. “On my lunch break, I went to get things checked out, and they admitted me to Women’s Hospital. The next morning, the doctor came in and said, ‘it’s time to have birthdays today.’”

Emma had an emergency Cesarean-section Dec. 15, 2021, and delivered identical twin girls—Hazel, who weighed 4 pounds, and Harper, who weighed 3 pounds. Both girls had underdeveloped lungs and struggled to breathe.

The girls spent 34 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at North Mississippi Medical Center Women’s Hospital. While there, a neonatologist diagnosed them both with cutis aplasia, a rare congenital condition in which a section of skin, usually on the scalp, is missing. In their case, tissue and bone underneath the scalp were not fully developed either.

“Where their skull bones should have been, there were just soft spots,” Emma explained.

The twins were referred to Dr. Laura Humphries, a pediatric plastic surgeon with Children’s of Mississippi, the pediatric arm of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. Thanks to a partnership between NMMC and UMMC, their monthly appointments were in Tupelo at the Children’s of Mississippi Specialty Clinic. 

That September, Dr. Humphries performed tissue expansion surgery on both girls. She inserted a surgical balloon under the scalp, gradually inflating it over a period of weeks to stretch the skin. Then, she used this “extra” skin to cover the bald areas. 

Dr. Humphries worked with the Children’s Clinic-Tupelo staff to make the time-consuming process much easier for the Wilsons. “Dr. Humphries went to the clinic and gave them a tutorial on how to inflate the expanders,” Emma said. “We were able to have this done at Children’s Clinic in Tupelo every week instead of having to drive to Jackson. I try not to take for granted how blessed we have been.”

Five months later, Dr. Humphries and pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Mason Shiflett performed bone graft surgery together to replace the missing area of the girls’ skulls. “As they were growing and learning to crawl and walk, we needed to protect their brains from bumps and knocks,” Emma said.

Because of their prematurity, both girls experienced some developmental delays. “We weren’t very strong, so we were behind on all of our developmental milestones like rolling over and standing,” Emma said.

The twins started physical and occupational therapy at NMMC’s Outpatient Rehabilitation Center when they were only a few months old. Around 1 year of age, they added speech therapy to work on food aversion and speech delays.

Their therapy sessions include time in NMMC’s Fun Factory sensory gym, featuring several types of swings, a zip line, overhead jungle gym and jump deck with a crash pad pit. Sensory stimulation engages different areas of the brain and helps children build confidence and skills. “I am very impressed with all that they have available,” Emma said.

Today, Hazel and Harper are thriving preschoolers—no one would guess the challenges they’ve overcome. “They love to read books, dance, sing and play in the water anytime they can,” Emma said. “Hazel is very sassy and silly, and Harper is mischievous and sneaky.”

Their story reminds us that even the smallest among us can overcome big challenges—with a little help and a lot of heart.