Mandy Emedi strived to be prepared when she found out she was going to be the mother of twins about three years ago.
“We found out we were having twins pretty early in our pregnancy. We tried to glean as much knowledge as we could,” the Bowling Green woman said. “Having multiples, we knew there was an increased risk for premature birth.”
Still, she was surprised when she went into labor at 341/2 weeks.
“I had my mind set on a healthy pregnancy,” she said. “It was a complete shock when I went to the hospital. That was the most scared I had ever been.”
Emedi and her husband, Janko, welcomed twin daughters, Anna and Brooklyn. The babies stayed in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit for 10 days to get help with eating and gaining weight.
“We were very lucky,” she said. “There were no major complications at all.”
During that time, Emedi formed a bond with the NICU staff.
“We spent so much time there working with the nurses and doctors, we felt like they were our family,” she said. “They really, really connected with the families. They are there as much for the parents as they are for the babies.”
While in the hospital, Emedi learned about The Medical Center’s annual NICU reunion, which brings together the children and their families with doctors, nurses and staff members who were involved in their care. It gave Emedi a real milestone to look forward to.
“It was a goal of mine to take two healthy babies to show the nurses and doctors,” she said.
“Buds to Blossoms,” the fourth annual NICU reunion and open house, will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 11 at The Medical Center Auditorium.
“The theme is decided upon by a committee of staff nurses and marketing,” said Debbie Smith, charge nurse for the nursery and NICU at The Medical Center. “The babies begin as little buds and then blossom.”
The reunion has drawn as many as 300 people, Smith said. There are games, prizes and food. Parents are asked to send stories, pictures of their babies in the NICU and current pictures of their children. The pictures will then be used in a slide show during the reunion.
“It’s a wonderful event. The nurses look forward to it each year,” she said. “It’s so rewarding to see these babies come back. Here they come back as beautiful children, looking wonderful and doing well.”
The event not only reunites parents with the medical staff, but also with other parents.
“Parents get to know each other in this situation,” Smith said. “There are parents who form friendships that last for many years.”
Emedi helps parents who have babies in the NICU as a support parent with The Medical Center’s NICU P.E.A.S. (Parent Encouragement and Support) Group, which offers peer support for the parents of premature or ill newborns. She has been a support parent since the beginning of the year.
“The program was not in existence when my girls were born,” she said. “There is so much emotion and uncertainty that go in a NICU stay.”
Emedi said her children, now 21/2, are doing well.
“They’ve completely caught up with the growth curve,” she said. “Emotionally, they’re where they’re supposed to be.”
Emedi took her daughters to their first reunion when they were a few months old. She is just as excited to take the girls to the upcoming NICU reunion.
“It’s such an opportunity for families to come back,” she said. “I just want to go back and say think you for giving our girls a healthy start.”
— For more information, call 796-2144.
