FULL VERSION

MEET THE RAQIBS

Mekka and her husband Mukhtar were beyond excited when they found out they were pregnant with twin boys. Everything went smoothly until 22 weeks into Mekka’s pregnancy when she began to feel pressure and pain and couldn't walk. She called the hospital and was told to go the emergency room immediately—that the twins were coming and the doctors can deliver them and let them pass away in her arms.

Mekka pressed them for other options, and that’s when she was connected with a neonatologist who told her that the twins had a better chance of survival at 23 weeks. So, for seven days “she did everything she could to be as still as possible.”

Nasir and Said were born at 23 weeks exactly, weighing 1 pound, 3 ounces and 1 pound, 7 ounces, and they were given a 10 percent chance survival rate. “I have my one son who's being treated and he's not bigger than my hand, and then I don't know what's going on with my wife and my other son at the same time,” Mukhtar said. “I was in shock—I didn't know that this world existed.” They weren’t able to hold their new babies until a month and a half after they were born.

Said came home at five and a half months, but Mekka recalls it being bittersweet because Nasir was still in the NICU. “Then just a few days leading up to Christmas, Nasir got really sick and we were told that he wouldn't make it. I told him, ‘We're so proud of you, thank you for fighting.’ And then they passed him to me and I felt him take his last breath.”

Mekka and Mukhtar are thankful for the support they received during that difficult time. “During our first few days in the NICU, a March of Dimes NICU Family Support® Coordinator came by to visit one of our boys’ rooms and provided us with a bag of what I’m going to call gold—it provided us with resources about kangaroo care, NICU terminology, words that we were hearing every day but had no idea what they meant, and so that's really where our education started.”

Today, Said is eight years old and in the third grade. He’s fun, loving and resilient. As his dad put it, “He’s a wonderful kid and has all the energy in the world—he's a survivor.” Mekka and Mukhtar find comfort in helping other moms and families in need. “That's how we keep Nasir’s name alive—by helping others and giving back,” said Mekka. “That’s what led us to be the advocates that we are today.”

SHORT VERSION

MEET THE RAQIBS

Mekka and Mukhtar were beyond excited when they found out they were pregnant with twin boys. Everything went smoothly until 22 weeks into Mekka’s pregnancy when she began to feel pain and couldn't walk.

Nasir and Said were born at 23 weeks, weighing 1 pound, 3 ounces and 1 pound, 7 ounces, and they were given a 10 percent chance survival rate. Said came home at five and a half months, but Mekka recalls it being bittersweet because Nasir was still in the NICU. “Then Nasir got really sick and we were told that he wouldn't make it. I told him, ‘We're so proud of you, thank you for fighting.’ And then they passed him to me and I felt him take his last breath.”

Mekka and her husband are thankful for March of Dimes NICU Family Support® and the Coordinator who provided them with the resources and education they needed during this difficult time. “March of Dimes was right there every step of the way when we were in the NICU,” said Mukhtar.

Today, Said is eight years old and in the third grade. He’s fun, loving and resilient. Mekka and Mukhtar find comfort in helping other moms and families in need. “That's how we keep Nasir’s name alive—by helping others and giving back,” said Mekka. “That’s what led us to be the advocates that we are today.”