Becoming a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) nurse over a decade ago was a dream come true for Michelle. She loves her job and feels this is what she is truly meant to be doing with her life. In a strange twist of fate, her career and dreams of motherhood crossed paths back in July of 2015.
When she found out she was pregnant with twins in February of that year, she says she and her husband Greg, were “over the moon!” In the beginning, she worried constantly about her pregnancy because she feared a premature delivery, which often comes with delivering twins. As her pregnancy progressed and the babies were healthy, she began to relax and enjoy the most magical time of her life. Her co-workers in the NICU at El Camino Hospital even nicknamed the babies Poppy and Daisy.
The excitement took a drastic turn when the doctor discovered that Michelle had preeclampsia and needed to be admitted to the hospital. At 29 weeks pregnant, she wept as she walked past the NICU and approached the labor and delivery unit. “We didn’t want the NICU to be a part of our journey. I would have endured any amount of pain if I could just stay pregnant for a few more weeks. But I became more ill and my doctors became increasingly concerned with my health, so we made the decision to deliver our babies at 30 weeks,” explains Michelle.
The most surprising and sweetest sound the couple ever heard were Elin and Vivienne's tiny cries when they were born, but they were small and weighed less than 3 pounds. “Nearly six weeks after our tiny babies came into this world screaming with all their might, we got to take them home. It was the best day of our lives! Healthy, amazing, awe inspiring, beautiful baby girls. We are so grateful to the March of Dimes for the many therapies and procedures they made possible to help Elin and Vivi thrive,” said Michelle.
Michelle and her girls, Elin and Vivienne, were the El Camino Hospital team representatives for the March of Dimes’ 2017 March for Babies walk.