I was 22 weeks and 6 days pregnant with fraternal twins. I had a very large hematoma that triggered preterm labor. There was a storm that night, so I couldn’t be life-flighted and instead had to ride in an ambulance for nearly 2 hours to reach the nearest big city. I was told I needed to hold on until midnight to reach 23 weeks so doctors could try life-saving measures for my babies. They explained that if I delivered in the ambulance, they could not save them, only keep them comfortable.
I fought for 12 hours, only to be told at the next hospital that I would actually need to make it another full week before they could help. After 3:30 am, I delivered my first twin, Genesis. She lived for just 6 minutes before her tiny lungs gave out. I held her in my arms as she passed, and at the same time delivered her brother, Augustus, who had already passed in the womb only minutes earlier.
Genesis weighed 1 lb 2 oz and was 12 inches long. Augustus weighed 14 oz and was 11 ½ inches long. It was the hardest day of my life. What hurts even more is knowing that what my doctors said was “normal” in multiple pregnancies is what caused me to lose them.
My babies were born on February 11th, 2021.
Forever 23 weeks old.
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