They Won the Fight of Their Lives
Our twins were born on November 8 at 26 weeks gestation. They were my husband and I weren’t sure what to expect being first time parents. What we did not expect was for the boys to come so early! I had a healthy pregnancy up until the night I started having preterm labor. I was checked out at our local hospital and they immediately called an ambulance to have me sent to Bronson Methodist Hospital here in Kalamazoo. I had bulging membranes out of my cervix and they could not stop my contractions. The next morning the twins were delivered by emergency cesarean section.
Owen was born first weighing a whopping 2lbs and measuring 13 ¼ inches long. He was immediately intubated and sent to the NICU. Jackson was delivered two minutes later weighing in at 2lbs even and also measuring 13 ¼ inches long. Jackson decided to give the Neonatologist a run for his money and had to have a chest tube inserted right in the delivery room because of a pneumothorax (free air that gets trapped outside of the lungs in the chest wall and collapses the lung). Jackson almost did not make it out of the delivery room but was miraculously intubated and sent to the NICU as well. The doctors said that although the twins’ weight was great for their gestational age, they acted more like they were 25 weekers because their eyes were still fused together and their skin was very fragile.
So began our NICU journey…
Owen needed respiratory support to help him breathe. He was intubated and on a ventilator for a few months. During this time he would trial off of the vent on to CPAP but would have to be intubated because his immature lungs could not handle the work it took to breathe on his own. Owen had multiple blood transfusions, rounds and rounds of antibiotics for infections, a bilateral inguinal hernia repair, a lung biopsy, and had his PDA ligation done at his bedside on the unit. Owen developed a chylothorax shortly after his ligation and needed a chest tube as well. We later found out that Owen could not take a bottle by mouth because he developed a paralyzed vocal cord from nerve damage in his throat and would aspirate his food. He came home on March 23, 2010 with a gastrostomy tube and on home oxygen with scheduled Early On visits, visiting physical therapy and occupational therapy.
Jackson needed respiratory support to help him breathe as well. He was intubated and eventually did not tolerate the conventional ventilator so was put on the oscillating ventilator (this vent sounds like a helicopter) for support. Jackson would never trial off the ventilator on to CPAP during his entire NICU stay because his damaged lungs could not handle being off of support. He also had multiple blood transfusions, rounds and rounds of antibiotics for infections, a bilateral inguinal hernia repair, multiple chest tubes for recurring pneumothoraxes, a gastrostomy tube and had his PDA ligation done at his bedside on the unit. Jackson developed chronic lung disease from damage to his little lungs so he eventually needed to have a tracheostomy tube placed to be able to come home on the ventilator. We were told on at least three different occasions that Jackson was not going to make it out of the NICU. Jackson came home on March 25, 2010 with a gastrostomy tube, tracheostomy tube, on the ventilator. He qualified for 24/7 at home nursing care, scheduled Early On visits, visiting physical therapy and occupational therapy.
Since coming home from the NICU, the twins have had multiple outpatient surgeries to remove their G-tubes, removal of scar tissue from Jackson’s trachea, removal/closure of his tracheostomy tube and stoma, inguinal hernia scar tissue removal, and tubes placed in ears. They have seen many specialists such as; ENT, Audiologist, Pediatric Surgeons, Cardiologist, Pulmonologist, and of course their beloved Neonatologists. Jackson was weaned from the ventilator when he was about one and a half years old and had his tracheostomy tube removed when he was a little over two years old. Although they had a rough start to life, they have caught up physically and developmentally to kids their own age. We are blessed to say that Owen and Jackson have nothing but a bunch of “battle scars” from the fight of their lives in the NICU. The twins are currently in 5th grade at our local elementary school and doing great. Some of their favorite things to do are read, play video games, and swim with their younger brother.
