Figueroa Micro Preemie Twins Fighting for Life

Hello, My name is Jessica and I am starting this gofund me in hopes of raising funds to help my niece Lauren and her husband Stephen as they face long term NICU stays and accumulating cost associated with micro-preemie twins. Below is some of their story.

Lauren and Stephen found out they were expecting twins in August 2022 and were overwhelmed with joy because they have been trying for awhile to add to their beautiful family of 3. Lauren and Stephen have been part of the Tyler/Lindale community for a very long time. Lauren an ER nurse at Hospitality and Stephen an IT professional. Their 5 year old daughter Sophia was so excited to become a big sister! Lauren has been enjoying her pregnancy and preparing to add 2 more to their family this Spring. Everything was going well until around December 23rd when Lauren started having headaches and high blood pressure. She was in the hospital for one night right before Christmas, but cleared to come home just in time for Christmas after receiving medication to stabilize her BP. I remember getting a text from her that she was thankful that she already wrapped all the presents. I was relieved when she texted me she was home the next day. Unfortunately, the celebration of being home didn't last long as her BP began to spike again. On December 27th, she was back in the hospital and this time to stay until the babies were born. The Doctors and nurses at her local hospital did what they could to help her BP, but ultimately made the decision that night to airlift her to Dallas Presbyterian, where there was a much better NICU to help with babies at just 23 weeks gestation. They diagnosed Lauren with severe Pre-eclamsia and the babies with IGUR(growth restriction). They tried to do everything they could to help Lauren's condition, but with the babies not growing, they made the decision to do a C-Section at 7:00 PM on December 29th, 2022. Elias Augustus Figueroa weighing 1lb 1 ounce and Penelope Claire Figueroa weighing just 13 ounces made their debut on December 29th, 2022 at 23 weeks and 4 days gestation.

Both babies are doing well for their age & size! They are both in the NICU and intubated.

From her Sister Madeline:

Lauren is doing well, despite her blood pressure still being up. They said to expect it to take some time for the pre-eclampsia to resolve. She will be in the hospital for several more days at least.

We are so thankful to the Lord for the wisdom the medical team had in delivering the babies when they did. Baby boy’s placenta was almost fully abrupted (detached) and Lauren’s uterus was stretched very thin in one area & was very close to rupturing. These sweet babies needed to come out and we are so thankful they got them out in time before a full placental abruption or a uterine rupture.

They all have a long road ahead of them, and they need and appreciate all of the prayers so much. We are working on setting up a page so that they can be updating on the babies on there more frequently. We will share once that is set up! ❤️

Lauren and Stephen will have many expenses as you can imagine with the preemies, medical bills, and the cost of gas and travel to and from Dallas (about an hour and a half from their home). I would love to bless them with some money to help cover these costs. Anything you can give is appreciated and above all else please continue to pray for these sweet babies as they have a very long road ahead of them. One of my sisters said it best "Tiny Babies, Big, Big God!"