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Our story began in October 2000 when we learned we were expecting twins in June 2001. But our joy was tempered when I started having complications, which kept me in bed for seven weeks early on and forced me to the doctor's office on February 4, 2001. To give the babies the best possible chance of survival, I was transferred 45 minutes away to a hospital with a level III NICU.
The odds weren't good. I was 23 weeks and four days along, and at that time it was believed that babies born before 24 weeks just aren't able to survive. That night we made the hardest decision any parent ever has to make. We signed papers stating that if our babies were born this early we wanted no heroic measures taken; we just wanted them comfortable.
When we hit the 24-week mark we changed our order to do everything medically possible to save our babies. We were allowing ourselves to become cautiously optimistic, but still had that ever-present fear in the back of our minds.
In the early hours of February 23, I began contracting for what was to be the beginning of Hanna and Rachel's delivery. My contractions stopped, and we thought we had dodged another bullet, but in the early hours of February 24, contractions began again, and there was no stopping them. I was 25 weeks pregnant, and our worst fears were being realized.
At 3:50 a.m. Hanna Caroline entered this world. Rachel Marie followed at 3:51 a.m. with the tiniest of cries, but was soon silent as well. Hanna weighed 1lb 12oz and Rachel weighed 1lb 11oz. Both were 12 inches long. They were incubated immediately, as their lungs were too underdeveloped.
We had a long road ahead of us. We began our "new normal" by spending our days between caring for our 2-year-old at home and visiting the girls. I suffered from extreme guilt -- guilt for leaving Ian and guilt for leaving the girls.
The girls had many obstacles to overcome before they could leave the hospital. Some of the medical complications they faced included IVH--Grd III, PDA, ROP, GERD, Anemia, and Apnea. They also had challenges that one may not think about. The introduction of food must be done very slowly to teach the digestive track how to digest. Breathing actually burns calories, which is counter-productive to gaining weight, a requirement for coming home. We celebrated every milestone, and prayed through every hurdle.
After 12 emotional weeks, Hanna was discharged on May 14 and four days later Rachel joined her at home. Still very fragile, they came home with Apnea Monitors that would sound an alarm if they stopped breathing. False alarms became a source of many sleepless nights.
Since the girls were discharged they have continued to face many obstacles. They spent the first two years in weekly therapy sessions to ensure they were developing appropriately. Today they are typical 4-year-old little girls who love babies, Polly Pockets and drawing. They enjoy gymnastics and tennis. Last summer they added swimming underwater to their list of accomplishments.
They still have intermittent challenges as a result of their prematurity, but their progress to date has exceeded all of our expectations and couldn't have been possible without the focus on research and the generosity of those that make this research possible. Please be assured that the March of Dimes is not only a worthy cause, but also one that has real impact on families such as ours.
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