Brenda and Chad Lembo were told that if their twin babies survived 72 hours there was hope…
If they survived 16 weeks that was even better…
Then they needed to make it to 28 weeks and the babies could be viable outside the womb…
 Parents-to-be are naturally anxious, but the Lembo’s were especially anxious when Brenda started bleeding internally while pregnant with twins. At 10 weeks of pregnancy, Brenda began to have severe lower pelvic pains and decided to go to the hospital. She was admitted at 8am on a Sunday and by 7pm that same day she was transferred to Magee. Needless to say, it was a long and horrible day. After about 30 minutes, the Magee staff determined that she was bleeding internally for an unknown reason and was immediately rushed into extensive surgery.
In this rare case, it was discovered that a third baby was implanted at the end of her left fallopian tube and in the lining of her uterus! Her surgeon, Dr. Woo, had to remove her left fallopian tube and a portion of her uterus and told the Lembo’s that the twins survived the surgery, but was unsure of their survival once delivered. In addition, only a patch could be placed over the uterus, a temporary fix, due to Brenda being pregnant.
Dr. Woo consulted with other Magee physicians and didn’t know of any other patient stories of this magnitude where a portion of the uterus was removed from a woman pregnant with twins and the mother and twins survived. Brenda and her husband, Chad, anxiously waited for over two months to find out if their unborn twins could survive once delivered.
Although there was great concern for the twins’ survival after Brenda’s extensive surgery, she and the babies made it to 34 weeks, surpassing the 28-week mark that was once the goal, and were delivered on Friday, March 28, 2008. Cooper and Parker weighed 5 lbs, 8 oz and 4 lbs, 6 oz, respectively. Brenda remained in the hospital for four days following the delivery. After Dr. Krupski delivered the babies via C-Section, and permanently repaired Brenda’s uterus where the temporary patch had been placed from the previous surgery.
Because of the twins’ early delivery, they were transferred to Magee’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for two weeks because although they were able to breathe on their own, they had problems eating. Tubes were inserted through their noses to ensure they were receiving the proper nutrients.
Brenda and her husband will be forever grateful for the care they received, which was the best care a patient could get. The doctors and nurses all took ample time to explain everything to the parents-to-be.
“It’s never easy for parents to part from their children, especially when they are newborns,” states Brenda. “But we never doubted for a moment the care our babies were receiving at Magee.”
Part of the reason for the heartwarming care the twins received is due to the fact that infants in Magee’s NICU are in a “ward” setting and now each baby has his or her own “pod.” Magee’s state-of-art NICU offers a more intimate environment for babies and their families with 48 private rooms and a 15-bed open area, making it the largest single bay facility in the country.
The Lembo’s would like to thank everyone at Magee who saved the lives of Brenda and the twins, their little miracles, Parker and Cooper.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIVING: Neonatal Intensive Care
OUR COMMITMENT: Neonatology
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