Love and thanks from Kenora

At 17 weeks gestation I found myself on bedrest and praying that everything would be okay with my twin pregnancy.  One of the amniotic sacs had ruptured extremely early and just shy of 24 weeks my body started contracting.  It was a miracle we made it to 24 weeks but I was determined everything would be okay.   At 24 weeks I was admitted to the Women's Hospital on bedrest under the amazing care of Dr. Menticoglou.  He checked on me daily and was amazed we had made it as far as we had.  
At 26 weeks everything changed.  My contractions that had subsided became worse and one thing led to another; I had to deliver the babies.  My husband was still home in Kenora when he received the call I was going in for an emergency "C" section.  The babies were born and he was only half way to Winnipeg and hoping for the best...

Twin "A", we named her Ava Gabrielle, had an abrupted placenta that caused the emergency delivery. She had gone 9 weeks without the amniotic fluid she needed and it was time to come out. 
Three short days after her delivery, Ava passed away.  Her twin sister Demi, born at 2 pounds on March 10, 2009 and spent the next 20 weeks in the NICU.  At 2 weeks, she needed heart surgery followed by countless ventilators and breathing machines over the next many months.  She had issues with eating and even a paralized vocal cord. Because of the care she received from the entire staff in the NICU, she is home today and doing fantastic!  She is 10 months old and weighs almost 13 pounds! She does everything she should for her corrected age of 7 months.
I want to say thank you to everyone in the NICU for their dedication and love to help both our girls.  Dr. Caces was with us from the very beginning and she will forever hold a special place in our hearts.  The efforts at 3 A.M. to save Ava were above and beyond. The nurses were run off their feet with both girls, thank you Kim and Kate for exhausting yourselves to help us bring Demi home. Dr. Sacia and Dr. "G" thank you for trying out different treatments to help Demi breathe on her own and even calling to check on her while away.  All the "RT's" thank you for being so quick to respond and reassuring as we weaned Demi off each breathing machine.  There are so many others I wish I could mention; I hope everyone knows the staff at HSC's NICU are like no other. They were our family for five months and although we do not miss the circumstances that brought us together, we truly miss them all and are greatful for the care they give to patients and their families...

Love and thanks from Kenora,

Jamie, Sarah and Demi Minor