On a recent Monday afternoon, identical 21-year-old twins Karly and Kestly Tinklepaugh met the man they consider their hero – Texas Children’s Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Charles D. Fraser Jr.
“We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for giving us a life that is as normal and healthy as possible,” Karly and Kestly said in an emotional reunion. “You are one wonderful individual.”
Two decades ago, when Karly and Kestly were just 2-years-old, Fraser performed corrective surgery on the girls, who were born with Tetralogy of Fallot, a rare and complex heart defect that is treated most successfully with open-heart surgery soon after birth.
Since their surgery, Karly and Kestly have grown up to be normal, healthy young adults. Both of them attend Lone Star College with Kestly studying to become a geologist and Karly planning on being part of the Texas Children’s team one day as an echocardiogram technician.
Over the years, the twins, who are patients with our Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program, have often thought of their hearts and Fraser, the man they believe saved their lives. The desire to meet the pediatric heart surgeon grew and led to a late-night email penned by the twins asking Fraser if he would be interested in meeting them.
To Karly and Kestly’s surprise, Fraser responded to their note saying he remembered them quite well and would be more than happy to arrange a meeting. Before the twins knew it, they were standing nervously on the 20th floor of West Tower waiting to shake the hand of the man who last saw them on an operating table. When Fraser arrived, hugs were exchanged and conversation about everything from heart surgery to college and grandchildren ensued.
“We are elated that we got to meet Dr. Fraser,” Karly and Kestly said. “We will forever be grateful to him and Texas Children’s.”
Fraser said he too enjoyed the visit and is grateful the Tinklepaugh’s reached out to him.
“Periodically, I’ve pondered where they were and what life had brought them,” he said. “Now, I know.”
To learn more about the Tinklepaugh’s reunion with Fraser and the twins’ heart condition, click here to watch ABC-13’s coverage of the event. To read a blog post written by the Tinklepaugh’s themselves, click here.