This I believe….. “What will not kill you will only make you stronger.” This saying holds so many truths, especially in our world today. Every incident and every moment I have lived has either molded me into the person I am today or has educated me and given me insight on what not to do. My life started out as a tragedy with my twin sister dying at birth. Then eighteen months later my parents had another set of twin girls. I have had a constant reminder for twenty-nine years of what I don’t have in my life when I look at my twin sisters. I love my sisters and they are my best friends. But I have always wondered to myself what if…. Would we have had the same color eyes, same color hair, same smile, or would we look different?
My mother told me when I was eight the story how Korey (my twin sister) and I came into this world. She told me the reason I was so special was because the whole time she was pregnant with me and my sister, the doctors did not know she was carrying twins. The day that she and my dad went to hospital to have my sister was an unusual day. They were eating at a local establishment when her water broke. My dad, being a crazy and fun-loving guy, panicked like most first time dads. He rushed outside to get the car for my mom but forgot about her and drove to the hospital. Luckily, the hospital was only a few miles away. My dad quickly realized that my mom was not with him and came back for her. As soon as they arrived at the hospital the nurses rushed her off the delivery room. About forty-five minutes later, my sister Korey Lynn Kaberline was born into this world. My mom still had a massive lump in her belly. The nurses were perplexed and puzzled what this thing in mom’s belly was. In the meantime, the doctor had come back with an ultrasound machine to see what was going on. While the nurses and doctors were trying to figure the situation out, my mom was very worried about Korey. She was not feeding, not staying alert, and looked pale and had a blue color to her. Within a few hours time, the doctors rushed Korey off to try to figure out what was wrong with her, and the doctor broke the news to my mother that she was going to have another baby. My mother was pissed, tired, worried, and she did not want to go through labor again. At one point my mother told a nurse in a very nasty and direct way “Lady I am tired of pushing, why don’t you shut up and push.” Three and half hours later I was born into this world, Kelly Lee Kaberline. My sister had spinal meningitis, it is a bacterium she contracted coming through the birth canal. With her being a newborn and not have her own immune system yet, the bacteria was a death sentence. She lived for three days before my father decided it was enough and could not stand to watch my sister stay alive on a ventilator. This is why my parents call me the miracle baby. I saved them from so much grief, sorrow, and sadness.
God works in mysterious ways. I live my life in part for me, but also in part for my beautiful twin sister Korey. I am blessed to have this life and the opportunities that come with it. And I literally believe “What will not kill you will only make you stronger.”