BASEHOR, Kan. — Local twins are on their way to recovery after reconstructive skull surgery. FOX 4 first told you about the Tranckino family of Basehor back in January.
After dealing with insurance company issues, the Tranckinos decided to take matters into their own hands and get their babies the best care possible.
RELATED: Parents fighting insurance company for better life for their twins
“It’s like we can finally enjoy the boys again and start planning other things,” said Karla Holton, the mother of the twin boys, Blake and Lance.
She says the boys are doing great since their return from Dallas where they had surgery to correct their Craniosynostosis. It’s a birth defect of the skull that needed to be corrected before the boys turned one, or it could’ve led to developmental delays, seizures, and vision issues, among other things.
“It’s overwhelming anyway having twins, so I just tried to give her a few tricks of the trade that I knew,” said Jessica Fouts, a family friend of ten years, who has a lot in common with them.
Fouts also has identical twins, and her four-year-old daughter, Lilly, had Craniosynostosis. She too battled with her insurance company to have the surgery done by the specialist is Dallas, and lost.
“I knew what Karla was going through, and I wanted to try and be there for her and Vic any way I could,” added Fouts.
Due to insurance reasons, the Tranckinos had to come up with funds themselves to get the surgery done out of state; a surgery that costs $50,000 per child.
“We had to have everything up front before we could schedule or go down to Dallas,” said Holton.
Fouts helped them set up the fundraisers, and with the support of family, friends and community, they were able to get enough money to set a surgery date.
“It’s disturbing that we had to go through quite a fight, and both of us lost, but in the end, our kids got, in our opinion, the best care that they needed,” Fouts said.
“There was just never a doubt in our mind that that’s not what we should have done,” said Holton.
Holton says the process was very stressful, but having Fouts’ support and knowledge made it that much easier.
“A huge weight has been lifted off our shoulders,” Holton added.
The surgery was successful, and Blake and Lance will be turning one next week.