{"id":26207,"date":"2023-04-28T07:00:10","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T07:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/?p=26207"},"modified":"2024-03-07T00:11:32","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T00:11:32","slug":"baltimore-mom-finds-second-family-at-deaconess-nicu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/baltimore-mom-finds-second-family-at-deaconess-nicu\/","title":{"rendered":"Baltimore mom finds second family at Deaconess NICU","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p>April 16, 2022, was a day filled with unexpected firsts for Samantha \u201cSam\u201d Williams. Just five months into her pregnancy with twins, she made a trip to the emergency department after experiencing early signs of labor.<\/p>\n<p>That same day, she took her first flight when she was rapidly transported by helicopter from MultiCare Valley Hospital to MultiCare Deaconess Hospital after her nurse discovered she was 3 centimeters dilated.<\/p>\n<p>Williams remembers the whirlwind of emotions as the nurse called for transport and a member of the team prepared her for takeoff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey started taking me upstairs, and he said \u2018Look, I\u2019m not going to let go of your hand at all. I\u2019m going to hold your hand the entire ride,\u2019\u201d she remembers.<\/p>\n<p>Within minutes, Williams arrived at Deaconess, where her fiance and mother-in-law were waiting. The doctor examined Williams before sharing the news \u2014 she was going to deliver twins Lorenzo and Layla at just 24 weeks gestation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only thing I did was scream,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI wasn\u2019t thinking I was going to have the babies that day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lorenzo and Layla were delivered by cesarean section, both weighing less than 2 pounds. Because of their fragile state as micro-preemies \u2014 babies born weighing less than 1 pound, 12 ounces, or before 26 weeks \u2014 they were immediately taken to Deaconess Hospital\u2019s donor-supported neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).<\/p>\n<p>Supported by community generosity through the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/give.multicare.org\/our-foundations\/multicare-inland-northwest-foundation\/\">MultiCare Inland Northwest Foundation<\/a>, the Level III NICU creates a supportive, low-stimulant atmosphere where babies born prematurely like Lorenzo and Layla or with serious health conditions can develop and thrive.<\/p>\n<h2>Finding a second family at Deaconess<\/h2>\n<p>For the next five months, the NICU became a second home for the family as Williams adapted to a new routine, visiting the unit daily to be with the twins. Along the way, she connected with a team dedicated to helping her little ones grow strong and healthy, including nurse manager Sarah Hurley, as well as NICU nurses Debra Mort, Erica Ziemer and Nate Cates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was there every single day, all day long,\u201d Williams shares. \u201cAs time went on, I got to meet different nurses and different people. There was a time where they thought Layla had caught meningitis. Her tube came out right in front of me, and they did her spinal tap right in front of me. And Sarah \u2014 I love her so much. She came in and told me it was OK, hugging me. Everybody was just making sure I was OK.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Having moved from Baltimore, Maryland, to Spokane in 2015, many of Williams\u2019 relatives were nearly 2,500 miles away. The twins\u2019 care team stepped in to ensure she knew they were there to support and advocate for her, too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey really became a family to me, because all of my family is in Maryland,\u201d she shares. \u201cIt was the best feeling ever to have that much support.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At one point, Lorenzo was transferred to another hospital for six weeks to undergo a procedure that supports infants born with an opening between the aorta and pulmonary artery. While away, the Deaconess care team advocated for him to come back, reserving his spot right next to Layla.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen he came back, one of the nurses had made him a sign and it said, \u2018Welcome back Lorenzo,\u2019\u201d Williams says. \u201cThat day, I was so happy to have him back because I\u2019d never held both of my babies at the same time. And they said, \u2018Sam, we\u2019re going to work on you holding both of them.\u2019 I held both of my babies, and it was the best day ever.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Growing strong and healthy<\/h2>\n<p>On Aug. 3, 2022, a day before the twin\u2019s original due date, Layla finally came home. Her brother followed a month later on Sept. 16.<\/p>\n<p>Now almost a year old, the twins are both healthy and happy with different yet complementary personalities \u2014 Lorenzo is quiet and calm, while Layla is feisty and cuddly.<\/p>\n<p>To the Deaconess NICU team that supported Layla, Lorenzo and their parents, Williams has this message:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you for everything you did to get me through this process,\u201d she says. \u201cThank you for being a family to me because my family isn\u2019t here. And thank you for saving my babies.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>April 16, 2022, was a day filled with unexpected firsts for Samantha \u201cSam\u201d Williams. Just five months into her pregnancy with twins, she made a trip to the emergency department after experiencing early signs of labor. That same day, she took her first flight when she was rapidly transported by helicopter from MultiCare Valley Hospital [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":403,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,79],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-foundations","category-profiles-stories"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Baltimore mom&#039;s NICU journey - MultiCare Vitals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Baltimore mother shares her heartwarming journey and the supportive community she found at MultiCare Deaconess Hospital NICU.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/updates-www.mccdn.io\/vitals\/baltimore-mom-finds-second-family-at-deaconess-nicu\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Baltimore mom&#039;s NICU journey - 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