SMT Sports Editor Andrew Cato presented Braswell with her prize (photo by Leigh Ann Kincy).
By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor
The ShowMe Times' reach continues to grow thanks to its incredible reader-base, and the company's Facebook page hit a milestone on Tuesday (July 31) evening.
On Tuesday evening, Jessi Braswell of Advance, Mo., became the 1,000th person to "Like" the ShowMe Times' Facebook page since joining the social media giant in January of 2011.
For the accomplishment, the ShowMe Times staff will be presenting Ms. Braswell with a Kindle Fire tablet at her earliest convenience.
Everyone at the ShowMe Times would like to thank our incredible readers and advertisers for your continued support throughout our first year and a half of business, and we look forward to continually providing you with the content you want to read about the Dexter community.
For all current and potential advertisers, make sure to contact Andrew Cato for the most up-to-date prices and usage statistics!
By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor
A pair of Dexter girls attended a very exciting conference over the weekend.
Ashley and Emily Long, the identical twin daughters of Charlie and Amanda Long, are heading into their junior year at DHS. Seventeen years ago, before the twins were born, they were diagnosed with Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). Over the weekend, the girls attended The TTTS Foundation Parent and Awareness Conference, held July 27-29 in Cleveland, Ohio.
TTTS is a rare diagnosis, with (on average) less than two cases per 1,000 births according to a 2003 study by the Centers for Disease Control. The disease only affects multiple pregnancies where two or more fetuses share a single placenta. Due to the shared placenta, the identical twin fetuses can develop shared blood vessels; depending on the number, type and direction of the interconnecting blood vessels, blood can be transferred disproportionately from one twin (the “donor”) to the other (the “recipient”).
The transfusion causes the “donor” twin to have decreased blood volume, which stunts the growth of the “donor” fetus. The increased blood flow to the “recipient” twin causes the “recipient” fetus to develop more rapidly, but it can also cause undue strain to the heart, and lead to heart failure.
In early pregnancy (before 26 weeks), TTTS can cause both fetuses to die, or lead to severe disabilities. If TTTS develops after 26 weeks, the babies can usually be delivered alive and have a greater chance of survival without disability.
The Long family’s journey with the disease began in 1995, while Amanda was pregnant with the couple’s second and third children. Dr. Julian E. De Lia performed Long’s procedure; the Long twins were involved in the fourth procedure involving the anterior placenta.
“I was diagnosed at 23 weeks,” Amanda said. “It was a Wednesday, and on Sunday [Charlie and I] were in Milwaukee, Wis., for surgery. The girls were so severe we didn’t have time to think. They made it to 37 weeks; Emily was six pounds, 10 ounces, and Ashley was seven pounds, three ounces. Emily didn’t have any [amniotic] fluid around her. Dr. De Lia told me I would have miscarried within the week.”
“The girls have no long-term disabilities,” she noted. “I was told to count on disabilities since it was such a severe case. What they didn't understand is that God had a hand in this. Out of all of the parents I spoke with, my girls were the only ones that never spent time in the NICU. After this weekend and seeing first hand how blessed my girls were, I know it is my duty to help educate!”The Conference featured speakers from the forefront of the TTTS field, including Dr. De Lia, as well as a fundraising walk through downtown Cleveland. Amanda said the walk was a moving experience, but noted that rectifying the lack of awareness for this disease is a critical step that needs to be taken.
“This walk was so moving. I can't even begin to describe it,” she said. “What bothers me the most is the lack of information out there about TTTS. 17 years after my girls had their surgery, women are still being told there is no hope. Doctors are giving them false information. I would have thought by now our situation would be the "norm". We lose more babies to TTTS than SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) each year and people still don't know what [TTTS] is.”
The family returned home from a great weekend in Ohio; Emily, during the trip home, wrote the following poem:
Top: Ashley and Emily pose with Dr. Julian De Lia, the doctor that performed a life-saving procedure on the twins before they were born.
Middle: Ashley and Emily show off the signs they carried during the Official TTTS Awareness Walk for the Babies.
Bottom: Survivors and parents finish the Official TTTS Awareness Walk on Sunday. (Photos submitted by Amanda Long)
By M. Queiser
ngmo.pao@us.army.mil
FARMINGTON, Mo. – Two area guardsman will be among the group deploying to Afghanistan with the 1138th Engineer Company, of Farmington. The unit is nearly 93 Soldiers strong.
The unit – which draws soldiers from the 1140th Engineer Battalion in Cape Girardeau – is part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and will be conducting route clearance missions.
Soldiers spent 29 days training at Camp Crowder and Camp Clark for pre-mobilization training that allowed them to learn necessary skills for deployment. Training conducted there included weapons qualifications, route clearance operations and tactics, battle drills and warrior tasks.
Spc. Dillon Rickman, of Dexter has been with the Missouri Army National Guard for seven years.
"Serving in the military is a family tradition", said Rickman. He’s looking forward to continuing that tradition on his first deployment.
“I’ve always liked the military life,” said Rickman. “I wanted to continue my family’s tradition and make them proud.”
Rickman is a 2006 graduate of Bloomfield High School. He is supported in his military career by his wife, Jordan; his son Colton, 2; his mother Anita Duba, of Dexter; and his father Wayne, of Eldorado Springs, Mo.
Spc. Jeffery Vaughn, of Essex, is another member of the 1138th Engineer Company.
Vaughn, who has been with the Missouri Army National Guard for four years and is a combat engineer, said this is his first deployment and that he knows he can rely on the support of the unit for himself and his family.
“I joined to better myself,” said Vaughn. “I wanted to do something to take care of my wife and family.”
Vaughn is a 1990 graduate of Richland High School and is an automotive support manager at Wal-Mart in Sikeston, MO. He is supported in his military career by his wife, Paula; his children Derrick, 22, Brittany, 21 and Megan, 21; his mother Linda Clolinger, of Brownwood, Mo.; and his father Jerry Ray Vaughn, of Dexter.
While deployed, the company will fall under the command and control of the 120th Engineer Battalion, Oklahoma National Guard. The Soldiers are scheduled to return in the spring of 2013.
Currently, Soldiers are finalizing appropriate training for deployment at Fort Bliss, Texas, including squad and platoon battle drills and tasks while being in vehicles and environments similar to that in which they will encounter while deployed. After mobilization training, the Soldiers will deploy to Afghanistan in mid-August.
For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please visit www.moguard.com and our social media sites: www.facebook.com/Missouri.National.Guard www.twitter.com/Missouri_NG www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard www.myspace.com/missouri_ng www.flickr.com/photos/missouriguard www.blog.moguard.com
Above, CAR members (from left to right) Steven Green (Branson) , Kay Stevenson, Kendra Stevenson, Tyler Stevenson (Dexter), Miles Coleman, Laurie Coleman, Hays Coleman (Poplar Bluff) and Mary Bess Green (Branson) stop for a photo during the formal dinner party. (Photo submitted by Kay Stevenson)
