Morgantown twins battle heart condition, 1 in need of transplant

MORGANTOWN, Ky.- A set of Morgantown twins were diagnosed with dilatated cardiomyopathy. One twin has received a heart transplant, while the other still awaits.

The family said it is grateful to the parents who made the decision that allowed one daughter a second chance at life.

“That’s part of their child that’s walking around in my child that lets her be how she is right now,” said Lake Cameron, the father of the twins.

Haley and Lake Cameron are the parents of Reagan and Raleigh, twins who were both diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. This defect happens when one or more of the muscles in the heart are enlarged or stretched.

According to the pediatric cardiomyopathy registry, one in 100,000 children are diagnosed every year. For the lake family, a routine checkup for Raleigh’s hemangioma is what exposed something deeper than what they were seen for.

“Of all things, just a routine checkup EKG is what led to all of this,” said Lake Cameron. The family made a decision to seek immediate medical attention.

“The first initial echo (echocardiogram) for Raleigh they discovered that her (heart) function was already down about 10% from normal. So, that’s kind of what sparked everything and then the following day they wanted to see Reagan, and they found out that Reagan had the same defect,” the twins’ father said. 

Raleigh underwent her first surgery to get a left ventricular assist device. Then on April 2, they received a phone call for a confirmed donor at 9 a.m. and by 1 p.m., Raleigh was in the operating room receiving a new heart.

“They just kind of popped in the room and were like, ‘hey, we’ve got a heart for your girl.’ I was happy. She was in a really good place. She was healthy going in so, it came at a good time, but obviously you’re going to panic. I mean your baby is getting a new heart,” said Haley Cameron, the twins’ mother. 

“Another word is you’re anxious, but you’re so excited at the same time,” said the twins’ father. 

Now, the family awaits a new heart for little Reagan, who is still at Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville. The parents said knowing the signs is what helped save their daughters’ lives.

“We already knew a lot of the signs to look for in heart failure,” said Lake Cameron. The family said that every step counts in the process of getting the girls back on the road to a healthy condition.

Reagan is awaiting a new heart donor, and Raleigh is at home enjoying the gift of a new life from a heart given from parents to parents. 

“There was a time that we were told she would never be able to run. She would never be able to play sports. She would never be able to do that because her heart would never keep up. Now to see her run up and down the hall, I mean it’s…yeah,” Lake Cameron said, holding back tears.

The Cameron family emphasizes that organ donors play a pivotal role in the medical industry and encourages families to enroll. 

Here is the link to help support their road to recovery, medical expenses and traveling from Morgantown to Louisville.