They're known around these parts as "The Massey Boys." Kyle, Kasey and Kevin are almost 17. All three were born with serious, life-threatening congenital heart defects. Their parents, Keith and Elaine, did not know before their triplets were born that they had tetralogy of Fallot, a group of four congenital heart defects -- pulmonary stenosis, overriding aorta, ventricular septal defect and right ventricular hypertrophy.
The Massey Triplets were born in South Georgia and airlifted to Shands Children's Hospital in Gainesville, Florida. Shands/Children's Miracle Network keeps their story, along with an adorable picture of the triplets as toddlers. The doctors at the University of Florida have written about them; I mean, they're identical triplets with nearly identical heart defects. How often does that happen anyway?
Imagine that. Imagine raising identical triplet boys who have nearly identical heart defects. Triple the worries. Triple the anxieties. Triple the surgeries. And? Triple the victories. Triple the accomplishments. Triple the laughter. Triple the joys.
Those Massey Boys fight, they pick on each other, they joke and they play pranks. They laugh and take care of each other. They're talkative and delightfully noisy. Keith and Elaine have raised rambunctious, goofy, thoughtful, loving kids. And they've done it with amazing grace, calm and composure. The boys -- the family -- are involved in their school, their church, their local community, and the congenital heart community. They are proud, confident young men. They're so good to our younger heart heroes.
Every time I see this photo, this is what I think about. Thank you, Kyle, Kevin and Kasey, for being you. Thank you, Keith and Elaine, for sharing them with us.
