Laura Witt, RN, an ER nurse, and her husband, Matthew, remember vividly the day three tiny heartbeats appeared on their ultrasound screen. After trying for eight years to get pregnant, they were expecting not one child, but triplets.
The pure joy they felt at the sight of those heartbeats was short-lived. Just 24 weeks into Laura's pregnancy, the triplets were born - nearly four months too early and frighteningly small. The boys, Matthew and Derek, each weighed 1 pound, 5 ounces, and measured just 12 inches long. Their tiny footprints barely filled an inch.
From that day on, the Witts' lives were filled with both delight and distress, as they simultaneously rejoiced in the triplets and feared for their fragile lives. "It was at once the best and worst of anything you could imagine," Laura remembers. But the babies were in the capable, caring hands of Magee-Womens Hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) staff, and they received exemplary care.
To the right: The Witt triplets, now almost 7, watch attentively as their mother, Laura,
displays the hospital bracelets, doll-sized hats, and tiny diapers from their incubator days. Matthew, left; Derek, center; and Hannah, right, hold their NICU pajamas and photos of their infant footprints.
"We experienced tremendous fear and anxiety every minute of every day," Laura recalls. "But we also had the best people, expertise, and technology nurturing our babies and keeping our hope alive. The NICU staff generated more hope than you can imagine."
After four long months in the NICU, the triplets went home, each healthy and weighing nearly 5 pounds. Today, they are animated and high-spirited, excitedly awaiting the Spiderman, Pokeman, and Princess bowling party that will mark the celebration of their seventh birthdays. As the candles are blown out, Laura and Matthew will give each other a squeeze, barely believing how fortunate they are.
"We gave the NICU staff a triple challenge," Laura says, "and in return they gave us a beautiful life. When I stand at the end of the sidewalk each morning and wave to my kids through the school bus window, I remember how it felt to peer at them through the tiny portal of the incubator, and I feel indescribably thankful. We wouldn't have a family if it weren't for Magee."
OUR COMMITMENT: Neonatology
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIVING: Neonatal Intensive Care
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