May 8th, 2016 is a very special day. Early that morning, despite all pleading for our babies to listen to their parents, our sweet twins decided that it was time for them to join us. After several hours of labor and an emergency cesarean section, a beautiful little girl, Lennon Gallant, was born at 10:51am and a handsome little boy, Palmer Steven, was born at 10:54am. We were so nervous at the beginning, since I was only 25 weeks and 2 days into my pregnancy, but right from the start they were beating the odds. Breathing on their own before intubation ventilators, large for their age, and Palmer with his eyes open right from birth!
We loved them the moment we knew they existed, but that love became so much more real when we met them. Our sweet little miracle twins, doing so well in those first few days - better than expected! As I recovered from surgery at the hospital, Ryan stayed with me so we could see our babies as much as we wanted. And see them we did! They met their family and they met our friends and they captured the hearts of everyone who saw them.
Although we knew there were risks - Dr. Wiener reminded us often - the babies' progress gave us a false sense of hope that our perfect babies would live perfect lives. Sadly, Palmer's life, though perfect, was cut short after five and a half days. We may not ever know the cause or what happened exactly. The only thing that was clear was that his heart had stopped and it could not be started again. Although it was the hardest day of our lives, we are so happy we were there for Palmer when he left us. We love him so much and it is within our hearts and our photos and our memories that he will live, always.
Through all the turmoil, Lennon remained strong. She continued to breathe, her heart continued to beat, and she continued to grow. We believe Palmer sent her his strength when he left, and he supports her every day as she reaches milestone after milestone.
Ryan and I have been inundated with messages of love and support as well as inquiries into Lennon's health and questions about how to help. In response to the questions, we decided to start this website to inform our family and friends of our little girl's journey through the UMass NICU to her home in Westminster. Follow along to see her celebrations, her setbacks, her milestones, and of course...pictures!
CaringBridge is a nonprofit social network dedicated to helping family and friends communicate with and support loved ones during a health journey. Learn more about CaringBridge.
