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A NEW BABY
is a joy for any family.
But for Stephanie Davis, a young woman
who has experienced her fair share of
tragedy and heartache, the birth of her
baby boy was nothing short of a miracle.
Difficult beginnings
Stephanie’s father had a major stroke
and was placed in a nursing home when
Stephanie was only 11 years old. Not
long after that, Stephanie’s mother was
diagnosed with chronic kidney disease,
a condition that results in the gradual
loss of kidney function. Stephanie was
the primary caregiver for her mother and
two brothers for several years while her
mom received dialysis treatment. At the
age of 17, Stephanie lost her mother.
Then in 2013, Stephanie was her-
self diagnosed with chronic kidney
disease. She began dialysis treatment
at Archbold’s Mitchell County Dialysis
Facility in Camilla, the same place where
her mother received dialysis treatment.
“When Stephanie walked into our facil-
ity for her first treatment, I immediately
recognized her from the time she’d
spent here while we were caring for
her mother,” said Joann Brown, Nurse
Manager. “She seemed so sad and
broken. I assured her we’d take great care
of her, just like we did her mother when
she was our patient. Our team knew we
had to do everything in our power to
help this young patient. She had been
through so much, and she needed more
than dialysis treatment—she needed a
family to lean on.”
Surprise!
A few months later, Stephanie learned
that she was expecting a baby. Pregnancy
can put a lot of stress on a woman’s body,
but for women with kidney disease or
kidney failure, it can also put the health of
the unborn child at risk.
“Studies show that only 1 to 7 percent
of women who are of childbearing age
can actually get pregnant while on dial-
ysis,” said Stephanie’s physician, nephrol-
ogist Daryl Crenshaw, MD. “Kidney failure
reduces a patient’s chance of fertility,
but further, pregnancy is generally not
recommended for dialysis patients
because of the risks of infant and mater-
nal mortality.”
So it’s no wonder that when Brown
received the news Stephanie was preg-
nant, she was concerned.
“I instantly began to think like a
mother—I was worried about her,” Brown
said. “My mind was racing with thoughts.
I worried about her ability to carry the
baby to full term. And I worried that if she
had a successful pregnancy—how could
she ever have a normal delivery?”
Even though the odds were stacked
against her, Stephanie was at peace.
“I knew this baby was a gift from God,”
said Stephanie. “I knew that God had a
plan for me, and I just had to trust his
guidance and pray that he would lead
the doctors and nurses to do what was
best for me and my baby.”
Amiracle
atMitchell CountyDialysis Facility
10 ARCHBOLD
MEDICAL CENTER
Daryl Crenshaw, MD (far right), and the team at Mitchell County Dialysis refer to
Johntarius Flemmings Jr. (pictured middle) as their miracle baby and his parents,
Johntarius Flemmings Sr. (far left) and Stephanie Davis (middle), as their family.