Despite difficulties, newborn twins prevail over obstacles

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Kimaree Haskins and Demetrias “Cheeks” Lewis had prayed that someday they would have a child of their own.

In 2007, the couple were overcome with joy when they found out they were pregnant. They were even more excited when they learned they were having twins, a boy and a girl.

“The best of both worlds,” Demetrias said.

Kimaree knew her pregnancy was the answer to their prayers. In the back of her mind, though, she was concerned with how her body would respond to the stress of having twins.

As the pregnancy progressed, Kimaree’s concerns became more of a reality. She began to notice symptoms she had experienced during the eighth month of her two previous pregnancies, which now appeared within the first three months.

Because she showed several signs of going into labor, Kimaree’s physician arranged for her to be taken to McLeod Regional Medical Center, where the McLeod Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was available in case she delivered the babies prematurely.

During her admission at McLeod, Kimaree received an ultrasound every day to check the health of the babies, who only weighed about 2 and a half pounds in the womb. She also received celestone injections to help make the babies’ lungs stronger, in case they were born before their lungs were fully developed.

By Oct. 13, two weeks after the contractions began, Kimaree’s contractions slowed down again. The couple decided Demetrias could return to his job in Little River without worry. Kimaree’s family came to visit her that day, and everything seemed to be going fine.

As her family began to leave her room, the contractions returned — this time faster and stronger than ever.

“It was like the babies were saying, ‘Don’t go anywhere. We’re coming!’” Kimaree said.

Kimaree’s physician told her that even though the babies were only 28 weeks old and weighed just less than 3 pounds each, they had no choice but to deliver the twins.

As Kimaree’s anesthesia wore off and she found herself in recovery, she was reassured when she saw Demetrias was with her. But the babies were not.

Demetrias explained to Kimaree that the twins had been safely delivered but were being cared for in the NICU.

“They were so tiny,” Demetrias said. “They were almost like two little grapefruits.”

Five months into the pregnancy, Kimaree and Demetrias chose the names Prayher and Primere for their daughter and son. Little did they know at the time the twins would live up to their names.

“Prayher definitely lived up to her name,” Kimaree said, “because she was the one who ended up needing all the ‘prayers’ while she was in the hospital.”

“Prayher had a bit more trouble,”  said McLeod Neonatologist Dr. Thomas Cox, of Pediatrix Medical Group. “After she came off the ventilator, she had some problems with her airway. With the assistance of aerosol treatments and special medications, we helped her breathing return to normal.”

Prayher still had more difficulties than her brother, and the NICU staff determined she required a blood transfusion.

While Prayher was struggling to survive, Primere was quickly catching up to milestones that other, full-term babies experience. He was quickly growing and eagerly eating.

“From the time he was born, it was as if he was making his ‘premiere’ in the world,” Kimaree said.

“Still, to this day, every time I look at them, I think ‘This has got to be God’s work,’” she said. “Even though they were born so small and needed so much medical attention, I still felt like they were here to stay.

“I was so relieved to know the babies were being taken care of by such good people. When we went home to Little River, the nurses would take pictures for us and had them ready for the next time we visited,” Kimaree said. “I feel like the people who work in the McLeod NICU were sent straight from God as angels for us.”

“Fifteen years ago, these babies probably would not have survived,” Cox said. “Now, we have more specialized knowledge and technology to treat the issues that premature babies face.”

“If you compare how they are doing now to pictures of them in the NICU, they have really come a long way,” Demetrias said. “I know they are miracles, because that is the only explanation for how well they are doing today.”