‘It’s promising, but then scary’: 5-month-old girl to undergo double lung transplant

CHESTERFIELD, Va. (WWBT/Gray News) - An infant from Virginia is now in Texas to receive a gift that may save her life: a new pair of lungs.

Kylie suffers from a disease called Surfactant B Deficiency, which prevents her lungs from working properly.

The life expectancy of someone without a lung transplant is about three to five months.

Kylie just turned 5 months old on April 10. Her parents, Jakob Haddix and Ashley Overfield, left their home in Chesterfield, Virginia to move to Houston to give Kylie a chance at survival.

They brought their 1-year-old son with them, and after a brief stay with grandparents, their 9-year-old daughter also joined them in Texas.

Texas Children’s Hospital is one of a small number of pediatric hospitals in the country equipped to perform lung surgeries on babies and has the highest success rate.

Kylie is one of the oldest recorded living babies to have Surfactant B Deficiency, and she was lucky enough to make it onto the transplant list.

“They only had one other make it this far,” Overfield said.

After battling rounds of infections, constant testing and a nearly three-month wait, Kylie finally has a donor match.

“It’s promising, but then scary,” Overfield said. “It’s complicated. It’s all so... the feelings are just everywhere.”

Kylie could be breathing from new lungs as early as Wednesday.

Overfield said her baby girl has been a fighter since day one, with Kylie’s medical team saying most babies they’ve seen have been much sicker.

“They say she’s a rockstar. That’s what they tell me every day,” Overfield said. “They originally thought she might have to be on ECMO because, usually, the disease gets that bad. I’m blown away with how amazing she is. I’m so proud of her. She’s just amazing.”

But this gift of life means another family has to say goodbye to their baby, a sad fact not lost on Kylie’s mother.

“I hope that one day I can meet you and tell you thank you,” Overfield said to the donor’s family. “I don’t know how to ever thank you the right way because you’re giving me my child. I’ll always be in your debt. I’m so sorry for what you’re going through, but thank you so much for choosing to donate to not only save my baby but other babies. Your child will live on, and I hope that brings you some peace.”

Assuming the surgery is successful, there is still a risk of rejection.

Kylie will be under close watch for months, and her family may have to spend another year or two in Houston.

But Overfield says the power of prayer and the community’s support is helping them through this difficult time.

The family has received numerous cards, gifts, and messages of support from strangers through the last few months after WWBT first reported her story.

“I love that God is using her to show that he still answers prayers, because I believe that’s what he’s doing. I do,” Overfield said.

Kylie’s Lung Transplant Journey Facebook page has nearly 13,000 followers.

A GoFundMe set up to help cover her medical costs has raised more than $36,000.