{"id":1759,"date":"2017-03-30T21:28:21","date_gmt":"2017-03-30T21:28:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.osfhealthcare.org\/blog\/?p=1759"},"modified":"2019-01-30T13:46:54","modified_gmt":"2019-01-30T19:46:54","slug":"twins-stay-in-nicu-has-lasting-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/osf-blog.live.imagescape.com\/blog\/twins-stay-in-nicu-has-lasting-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Twins’ stay in NICU has lasting impact"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Brynn (top) and Brie are shown on their second day of life.<\/p><\/div>\n

For Keith and Addi Mercer, life is about what you\u2019d expect with 9-year-old twin daughters and a 7-year-old son.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur life is busy. They\u2019re in sports, they\u2019re in school activities. So it\u2019s just the everyday life of normal people,\u201d said Addi Mercer. \u201cBut you wouldn\u2019t have known that nine years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nine years ago, Keith and Addi were expecting for the first time, twins, when complications forced Addi into bed rest early in her pregnancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the scariest moments of your life. The doctors, the neonatologists, come in and spit out all these different percentages of \u2018This can happen, that can happen,\u2019\u201d said Addi. \u201cYou\u2019ve got that in your mind and you\u2019re trying to keep your babies inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

They welcomed Brie and Brynn in March 2008 at 25 weeks, two days. They weighed less than 2 pounds each.<\/p>\n

The two were admitted into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at OSF HealthCare\u00a0Children\u2019s Hospital of Illinois<\/a>. It was another six months before the twins were both finally home.<\/p>\n

A balancing act<\/h2>\n
\"\"

The Mercers posed for their first family photo about a month after the twins were born.<\/p><\/div>\n

Juggling full-time work and caring for two babies in the NICU was a struggle, but Addi said they made it work with the help of family and the staff at the hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur daily routine was you got up, you went to work until 4 or 5 o\u2019clock, you went to the hospital till 11 at night and you started over the next day,\u201d said Addi. \u201cThat\u2019s what you do. You call two or three times a day and the nurses are really good about giving you updates. We didn\u2019t know any different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brie and Brynn spent their first two months in incubators. It was a full month before they were well enough for their parents to actually hold them \u2013 and then only for 45 minutes at a time.<\/p>\n

Addi said the nurses did everything they could to empower them as parents and allow them to connect with their babies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith changing diapers and taking temperatures, the nurses want you to do it. If you\u2019re there, they want you to do it, because it\u2019s your child. But when you\u2019re not there, they treat your child as their own,\u201d said Addi.<\/p>\n

On her first Mother\u2019s Day, the nurses even surprised Addi with a Mother\u2019s Day present \u2013 the girls\u2019 handprints, with a poem.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Building a support system<\/h2>\n
\"\"

Keith’s wedding ring is shown around the arm of Brynn.<\/p><\/div>\n

Not only did the Mercer family receive top-notch care and support from the staff, they also discovered a support network in the other families there.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in the old NICU, it was kind of an open room concept. You\u2019re with other families, right next to their babies. They\u2019re right next to your babies,\u201d said Addi.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have those moments when you break down, and other people can be there to lift you up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mercers maintain friendships with families, nurses and doctors from their stay in the NICU to this day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A lasting impact<\/h2>\n

\"\"At 9 years old, Brie and Brynn are your average kids \u2013 playing cards with their dad, teasing their younger brother, participating in basketball and soccer. Both favor math class in school. The only outward sign of their time in the NICU is a slight vocal cord paralysis that softens Brie\u2019s voice, matching her more reserved personality.<\/p>\n

\u201cMiracle from above, we don\u2019t really have any long standing effects from the prematurities,\u201d said Addi.<\/p>\n

But the Mercer family still recognizes the effect OSF HealthCare Children\u2019s Hospital of Illinois had on their lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cA few years ago I started a nonprofit, and my goal was to give back to the hospital. Because they allowed us to have these two in the world today,\u201d said Addi.<\/p>\n

The third annual Mulligans for Miracles Golf Outing is scheduled for Aug. 12, 2017, at Arrowhead Golf Course in Edelstein, Ill. The event has raised $15,575 for the hospital\u00a0in its first two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just lucky to have Children\u2019s Hospital in our backyard here,\u201d said Addi. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t go anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Keith and Addi Mercer, life is about what you\u2019d expect with 9-year-old twin daughters and a 7-year-old son. \u201cOur life is busy. They\u2019re in sports, they\u2019re in school activities. So it\u2019s just the everyday life of normal people,\u201d said Addi Mercer. \u201cBut you wouldn\u2019t have known that nine years ago.\u201d Nine years ago, Keith […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[118,223],"tags":[142,413],"coauthors":[681],"class_list":["post-1759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-birthing-center","category-patient-story","tag-childrens-hospital-of-illinois","tag-premature-baby"],"yoast_head":"\nTwins' stay in NICU has lasting impact<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Keith and Addi Mercer's lives are busy with 3 kids. 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