Care Team Delivers Lifesaving Treatment for Mom and Her Newborn Twins

In 2011, Katie and her husband Kevin spent a lot of their time at EvergreenHealth. It was her first time being pregnant and through her first 27 weeks, everything went completely as expected. Even with it being her first pregnancy and learning that she was going to have twins, the process seemed to go exactly as planned.

Then, during a routine checkup hardly into her third trimester, her EvergreenHealth obstetrician saw that her cervix had shortened and was funneling, signaling a preterm delivery.

She was immediately admitted to the hospital and put on bed rest so her care team could monitor her in case she went into labor. Her doctors worked hard to ensure she knew everything that was going on and provided medications to help her and her babies through the final weeks of her pregnancy.

"We are really active people, so bed rest was difficult to say the least," Katie said. "We have always loved the outdoors, so those weeks in the hospital were tough mentally, emotionally and physically, but everyone there caring for us did an amazing job making our experience as comfortable as possible."

She was on bed rest through Thanksgiving, but before Christmas, she was released and able to spend the holiday at home. However, days later, on December 30, she began experiencing contractions.

She and Kevin drove immediately to the EvergreenHealth Family Maternity Center. Katie was prepped for an emergency C-section, and her twin girls, Charlotte and Harper, were born at 33 ½ weeks.

Katie didn't have a chance to hold either of them as her care team had to take both Charlotte and Harper, who were 5 lbs. and 4.8 pounds respectively, straight to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) so they could be monitored.

Harper needed surgery shortly after birth so that her doctors could check her blood oxygen levels, and both girls, because they were preemies and their lungs hadn't been fully developed yet, needed to be put on ventilators and feeding tubes. One of Charlotte's feet was also turned out 120 degrees, requiring immediate treatment after she was born and eventually physical therapy.

Katie remembers how difficult the period was as she recovered and the NICU team cared for her newborn twins. "You're recovering from giving birth and you're not able to hold your babies. It was, in a way, traumatic," Katie said. "We were fortunate to have the EvergreenHealth care team. There wasn't one person who came into my room that I didn't adore, and everyone empathized with our situation."

When Katie was discharged from the hospital, the nurses and doctors caring for the twins continued to support her and Kevin, keeping them updated and making sure Katie got the rest she needed until Harper and Charlotte were able to go home with them.

"Every day I left the NICU at night to get some sleep, we knew that our girls were getting the best care possible," Katie said. "I took comfort knowing that we weren't alone in this and that our doctors and nurses were making sure, day and night, that our girls were healthy. As parents, we saw our tiny girls hooked up to monitors, with IVs and feeding tubes. It was difficult seeing them having to fight immediately after coming into the world, it didn't feel fair to them."

Charlotte and Harper are now 11 years old and have a younger sister, Ryann, who is eight years old and was also born at EvergreenHealth. Not to mention their two dogs, a bearded dragon, a box turtle, two bunnies and a betta fish.

Just like their parents, the girls are also very active, enjoying family hikes, snow skiing trips, biking, golf, water sports, soccer and softball.

Not only are they all active, Katie says Charlotte and Harper have distinct fighting spirits that they developed early on with the help of the care team at the EvergreenHealth NICU. They also have developed a tremendous compassion for all living things, especially those in need of help, saving different critters from lady bugs and bumble bees to even an injured baby bat.

"We are so proud of the strong girls Charlotte and Harper have become, from when they were just tiny little fighters to now," Katie said. "I have always believed things happen for a reason, and our girls birth story is no exception. I didn't understand why until 11 years later. Now I see how much the entire experience has shaped them—and us."

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