Two pound twins leave hospital
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A set of two pound twins.
When they were born, the boys’ parents thought one of them wouldn’t make it out of the hospital. Now they’re both home and healthy.
The twins came home a few days ago after spending two and a half months in the hospital. But back in October, their arrival was a complete surprise.
Joanna Weatherston had a normal pregnancy. Until she went into labour at church, 13 weeks before her twins were due: “They brought me by an ambulance to McMaster and sure enough they came right away.”
When the babies were born, they each weighed about 2.5 pounds. They were the length of a forearm, and both very skinny.
Joel and Jordan were put into incubators. After two weeks, the team at McMaster Children’s Hospital noticed a sudden change in Joel. Blood was seeping into his lungs because of a heart condition.
The family was called in to say their goodbyes.
Jean-Claude Kalamba: “I was at work. I got a call saying that I was supposed to come to hospital to say goodbye to my baby. And I just knew he was going to make it.”
Joel’s dad, Jean-Claude, was right. He started responding to treatment. After 77 days in the hospital, the boys got to go home together, thanks to the team that saved them.
Dr. Enas el Gouhary, Neonatologist, McMaster Children’s Hospital: “The most gratifying thing is when we see the babies going home with their parents and they are healthy and happy.”
Now that she finally has her whole family around her, Joanna is embracing the little things most new parents take for granted: “Hearing them cry, changing their diapers. All the nitty gritty, dirty stuff. I absolutely love taking care of them.”
Feeding two hungry babies, and changing two wet diapers around the clock is a lot of work, but Joanna calls it a double blessing.
Their original due date was January 14th. But it’s not uncommon for twins to come early. And premature births in general are becoming more common. Luckily, medical advances are also making it easier to treat them.
