Family Story Assets (Word Document, Photos)
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Our first-born son Ian was
born full-term. Our last son, Will, was born at 36 weeks. Our twin daughters,
Hanna and Rachel, were born at 25 weeks gestation. They were due June 4th
and were born February 24th.
Hanna weighed 1 pound 12 ounces and Rachel weighed 1 pound 11 ounces.
We were prepared for the
girls to arrive around 36 weeks gestation due to it being a twin pregnancy but
were assured that many woman carry to full-term—we had no reason to believe I
would be any different.
At 23 weeks, I had Premature
Rupture of Membranes (PROM). Neither Hanna nor Rachel were breathing when they
were born. They were immediately taken away, intubated and hooked up to a
ventilator. We were told they had a 10 percent chance of survival and a greater
than 50 percent chance of having lifelong complications. It was by far the most
frightening experience of my life. My husband Kirk and I felt completely
powerless.
Hanna spent 86 days in
the NICU and Rachel spent 92 days in the NICU.
We waited 4 days to hold
Hanna after she came off the ventilator so quickly—that in and of itself was a
miracle for a 25 weeker. Rachel was much sicker at birth—she was almost 3 weeks
old before we were able to hold her. That was also the first day since the
girls were born that they were placed together and we were able to capture our
first picture of the girls with Kirk and I.
Hanna and Rachel each had
an oscillator ventilator treatment. Hanna had a grade 2 brain bleed and Rachel
had a grade 3 brain bleed. They suffered from anemia, apnea and bradycardia.
They each received medication to close their patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Rachel had two laser eye
surgeries for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and one surgery to correct
strabismus. Hanna had two laser eye surgeries for ROP and six subsequent eye
surgeries to correct severe strabismus. Both girls received surfactant therapy.
My babies are now 16
years old but our NICU stay still haunts us. Rachel has many diagnoses
including autism, as a result of her premature birth. Hanna has two autoimmune
disorders that require constant medical treatment.
We didn’t find March of
Dimes until Hanna and Rachel were 3 years old. We walked in WalkAmerica in 2004
for the first time. The following year, in 2005, we formed our family team,
Team Tiny Feet. Four months later Share Your Story (SYS) was launched and I
began writing on the site. I am deeply grateful for the support and friendships
I’ve gained through SYS. It has provided me with more support, love and hope
than I could have ever imagined. We continue to walk and raise money for March
for Babies and my husband, Kirk and I now serve on the Chicago Chapter Board.
