On November 30th, my sister Erica's twins were born at the Brookings Hospital. They arrived early at 31 weeks and immediately after birth, were flown to the NICU at Avera McKennen Hospital in Sioux Falls.

Only hours after giving birth and before she was even discharged from the Brookings hospital to see her babies, Erica was making frantic phone calls to reschedule photo sessions and putting her clients' needs ahead of her own recovery.

While Erica and Cole's top priority is their newborns and navigating life as new parents, any free time that Erica has in the NICU is utilized editing photos and communicating with clients. Cole is also trying to meet his work obligations by working on his computer and phone, while spending valuable time with the twins in the NICU.

On top of the stress of having two fragile babies in intensive care, the twins' early arrival completely upended their planned maternity and paternity leave.

The twins have a long road ahead. They face a minimum of 6-8 week NICU stay while their lungs and other organs continue to develop. Baby boy has already undergone a procedure on his eyelid and has had some digestion issues due to an infection. They are both fighters, but they need all the love and prayers they can get.

Erica and Cole would never ask for help themselves, but as Erica's sister, I know how deeply they are loved by family, friends, and in the community and how many people are worried about the babies. Between the hospital expenses of delivering twins, helicopter evacuations to Sioux Falls, the extended NICU stay for two babies, and their insurance restarting on January 1, they are facing overwhelming medical expenses.

The most important thing is getting the babies healthy enough to come home. Your prayers would be appreciated. If you have the financial means to help the Doherty family this holiday season, your support would mean the world to them.

Thank you and God bless you.