GRAND RAPIDS, MI — When Tara and Cameron Marbra’s twin daughters were born at just 24 weeks’ gestation, each weighed little more than a pound and measured only a foot long.
The Muskegon couple was recently reunited with the NICU staff who helped care for their daughters during the first 113 days of their lives.
About 170 children and their families were welcomed by Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) staff from Trinity Health Grand Rapids to the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum for an evening of activity and reconnection on Monday, Sept. 16, in downtown Grand Rapids.
For Tara and Cameron, the reunion was particularly meaningful. At the time of birth, the couple’s twin girls, Lenora and Lakelyn, weighed about two pounds combined.
“It sounds crazy, but the twins were more theirs at times than they were mine,” she said of the nursing staff. “The majority of their life was spent with the nurses in the beginning, so I’m just excited to show how far they’ve come and how big and cute they’ve gotten.”
During their extended NICU stay, Tara and Cameron commuted from their Muskegon home, making the 40-minute drive regularly despite being offered accommodations at the Ronald McDonald House and St. Mary’s housing facilities.
The couple faced numerous challenges during their daughters’ hospitalization. Cameron described the experience as “stressful at first,” but said it got “easier over time” thanks to the medical staff who walked them through everything.
Now thriving at 15 months old, Lenora weighs around 25 pounds, while Lakelyn approaches 30 pounds. Their remarkable growth has given Tara a unique perspective on their journey.
“It is a very traumatic thing to go through the NICU, especially when your babies are born at 24 weeks and it is such a long haul,” Tara said. “The positive thing that I kept reminding to myself is how lucky I was because not every mother gets to watch their children grow the way I did. I actually got to see them grow on the outside.”
The reunion event allowed parents like the Marbras to express gratitude to the medical professionals who helped their children “get to the finish line” during those critical early days of life, Tara said.
Michaela Behrens, a registered nurse at Trinity Health, was at the door with a big smile as families arriving for the event.
“It’s just so rewarding to see the progress that they’ve made,” Behrens said. “Most of our babies are premature, but a lot are full-term who need extra support. We see babies that are in the NICU for only a day or a couple of days to maybe even several months.”