TRIGGER WARNING: This post contains images of micro-preemies, which may be triggering to some.
Tracey Hernandez was Christmas shopping on December 7, 2019, when she started to feel uncomfortable. The mom was only 22 weeks pregnant and she had no idea that what she was starting to feel were the tell-tale signs that she was about to go into labor. Hours later, she would find herself in a hospital in Durham, North Carolina, giving birth to her premature twin daughters, Makenzie and Makayla.
Hernandez tells CafeMom that she first learned she was pregnant in August 2019.
She was already the mom of a 8-year-old daughter, Jada, so she was familiar with what to expect while pregnant. And with her twin pregnancy, she says there were no signs that there was anything unusual before going into labor 18 weeks early.
"No issues, I had a healthy pregnancy," the 33-year-old recalls.
After she felt "uncomfortable" while Christmas shopping, the mom was airlifted to Duke University Hospital early in the morning.
By 2 a.m., Hernandez was on the way to the hospital and by that evening, she had welcomed her micro-preemies. At 7:55 p.m. and 8:04 p.m., respectively, she gave birth to her twins "by a spontaneous vaginal delivery."
She says her early delivery was "scary and emotional."
But luckily, her labor was a successful as could be given the situation. Makenzie was born weighing a tiny 1 lb. 1 oz. and Makayla weighed in at 1 lb. 3 oz.
Her doctors warned Hernandez that there was little to no chance that her daughters would survive after being born.
"They gave us a 0% chance and told us the only way they would help is if the girls were strong enough to accept the breathing tube," she says.
But Hernandez refused to believe that the worst would happen.
Incredibly, Makayla even beat a fungal infection while in the NICU.
The tiny infant developed zygomycosis — also called mucormycosis — which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states is a fungal infection that affects the lungs or sinuses "after inhaling fungal spores from the air or [on] the skin after the fungus enters the skin through a cut, burn, or other type of skin injury."
And Makenzie had a condition known as hydrocephalus, which she is still battling.
According to the Mayo Clinic, hydrocephalus is when there is a buildup of fluid in the ventricles of the brain. The buildup can then increase the size of the ventricles and put pressure on the brain.
On a GoFundMe page started by Hernandez's aunt, Susan Lords, she wrote on January 28, 2020, that Makenzie also had patent ductus arteriosus. The Nicklaus Children's Hospital describes this as a heart defect where a vein that is normally closed at birth remains open. Makenzie's aunt explained that she needed a surgery to close the hole in her heart.
As both babies fought for their lives, it was challenging for their whole family.
On the crowdfunding page, Lords wrote that Hernandez was the main breadwinner of the family and is a licensed practical nurse for individuals with special needs. Typically, that means Hernandez was required to spend large stretches of time away from her family, but her daughters' conditions made that impossible.
For the new mom to stay with her twins, she needed to extend her maternity leave. But not even two months after her daughters were born, she'd already exhausted all of her days off. She was determined to be by her daughters' sides while they went through treatment, and her patience ultimately paid off.
Gradually, the twins grew stronger and five months later, the girls are thriving.
In total, Hernandez tells us her daughters spent a whopping 160 days in the NICU, but thankfully on May 16, they were discharged from the hospital.
"Doctors have stated they are shocked and [said the twins were] true miracles," she tells us. And Hernandez is cautiously optimistic that her daughters will only get better. "We are taking every day one day at a time," she adds.
Hernandez adds that by sharing her story, she hopes it will encourage more doctors to give "22 weekers" a chance.
"I hate that they count 22 weekers out before they even come," she says. "Being born this young is not rare and not uncommon, it's just hospitals do not want to attempt to save [them] so young, that's the issue."
And her daughters are proof that the "impossible" can happen despite the odds. Which is why the mom is hoping that people take away one message from her incredible story.
"Twenty-two weekers are viable and can live a healthy and normal life," she says.
