PCL1 Oklahoma City Comets

Twins Ellie and Kylie Santiago to Celebrate "Home Run for Life" with OKC Dodgers Saturday

July 25, 2019 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Oklahoma City Comets News Release


OKLAHOMA CITY - The Oklahoma City Dodgers continue the 2019 "Home Run For Life" series Saturday night as they partner with INTEGRIS to recognize twins Ellie and Kylie Santiago during the Dodgers' game against the Memphis Redbirds at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

The twins were born more than three months premature, but thanks to emergency assistance from the Oklahoma City Fire Department and NICU staff at INTEGRIS Children's at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, they are now thriving 1½ years later.

The Santiago twins are learning to walk and talk. They love to play and tussle. One twin loves to dance while the other enjoys singing.

"They are doing good," said Jerany Santiago, the twins' mother. "Their progress is excellent."

"Home Run For Life" recognizes individuals in the Oklahoma City community who have overcome a significant medical event with the help of their families, physicians and health care professionals. To symbolize the end of their battle against adversity, honorees take a home run "lap" around the bases during an in-game ceremony.

"Five times a season we are proud to welcome these extraordinary Oklahomans to take the field at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark," OKC Dodgers President/General Manager Michael Byrnes said. "This is the ninth straight year we have partnered with INTEGRIS to honor these amazing individuals' perseverance and courage to overcome major health challenges."

Jerany Santiago found out she was pregnant with twins on New Year's Eve 2017.

The evening brought more surprises, however, as just hours after finding out she was pregnant, Santiago unexpectedly delivered premature baby girls at her home that night.

Her babies were born at just 23 weeks gestation. For perspective, full-term babies are born closer to 36 weeks gestation.

The twins' lungs, brains and hearts were still forming when they came into the world, limiting their chances of survival.

Ellie weighed 650 grams and Kylie weighed 760 grams at birth - or about 1½ pounds each. Santiago said the girls were so tiny, they could fit in the palms of her hands.

She called 911 and Engine 15B with the Oklahoma Fire Department was the first to arrive on scene.

"They were so incredibly tiny and fragile looking," Captain Travis Fryrear said about the twins. "We knew we had to get them to the NICU right away."

Santiago remembers her babies' initial purple appearance and the firefighters performing CPR on their tiny bodies.

"They helped a lot because they gave us a chance," Santiago said.

The babies were rushed to the emergency room at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center and quickly whisked away by the NICU staff at INTEGRIS Children's.

"It was touch and go for a while, it truly was," says Kristi Cagle, one of the neonatal nurse practitioners at INTEGRIS Children's who responded to the emergency room the night the girls were born. "The girls both required intense resuscitation including artificial ventilation and blood pressure support."

The girls spent more than 100 days in the NICU before going home.

Before they left, Santiago and the INTEGRIS Children's staff invited the firefighters who helped on New Year's Eve to the hospital to thank them for their service.

"I wanted to hug their necks and let them see my babies," Santiago said. "I wanted them to see for themselves how great they were doing and to tell them how grateful I am that they came to our rescue. That goes for the amazing staff at INTEGRIS, too. I got to take my babies home because I had a whole team of heroes on my side."

To read the Santiago twins' full story, visit the Dodgers' "Beyond the Bricks" website at: medium.com/beyond-the-bricks.

The Dodgers return home for a three-game series against the Memphis Redbirds at 7:05 p.m. Friday, 7:05 p.m. Saturday and 6:05 p.m. Sunday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.

Special festivities will be held throughout Friday night's Hometown Heroes, presented by Boeing, starting with a pregame flyover and culminating with postgame fireworks presented by Bank of America. Dodgers players and coaches will wear special camouflage jerseys during the game that will be auctioned off via the DASH Auction app, which is available for free via the App Store and Google Play Store. Proceeds from the jersey auction will benefit the OKC Dodgers Baseball Foundation.

Saturday is Marvel Super Hero Night, presented by Courtyard by Marriott. The evening will include special appearances by Spider-Man and Black Panther, who will participate in pregame and in-game entertainment on the field, as well as interact with fans on the concourse throughout the night. Gates open at 6 p.m. and OKC Dodgers super hero capes will be handed out to the first 500 children ages 12 and under in attendance. The Santiago twins will be recognized during their INTEGRIS "Home Run For Life" following the third inning.

The brief series then wraps up at 6:05 p.m. on a Chaparral Energy Family Sunday featuring pregame player autographs, a mascot meet-and-greet, face painters, inflatables and postgame kids run the bases.

Tickets are available through the OKC Dodgers ticket office located on South Mickey Mantle Drive, by phone at (405) 218-2182, or by visiting okcdodgers.com. Live radio coverage of each game begins 15 minutes before first pitch on AM-1340 "The Game," 1340thegame.com and through the free iHeartRadio or MiLB First Pitch apps.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from July 25, 2019


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