Week 26 A Memoir of Hope, Faith, and Perseverance

"It throws me right back to a lot of the trauma of my NICU stays, but I think this memoir is incredibly valuable precisely because of that." - Mia, NICU Mom When Jenny and Joe Bernardo found out that they were expecting twins, they thought they had been gifted the surprise of a lifetime-that is, until Jenny was rushed to the hospital at only twenty-six weeks pregnant and unexpectedly gave birth almost four months early. Baby A and Baby B were barely 2 pounds, born by cesarean, and immediately connected to life-saving tubes, wires, and masks before being rushed off to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Inova Hospital. In the months that followed, the twins fought for their lives in the NICU, having episodes where they "forgot to breathe", as preemies tend to do, being examined ceaselessly for any threat to their underdeveloped immune systems or vital organs. After being discharged just a few days later, Jenny and Joe spent hours every day for nearly five months sitting between the incubators where their babies' oxygen machines whirred. It became routine.