My name is Kayla Schmitz and I have been Mary’s best friend since high school.

Mary and Matthew welcomed their twin boys early at 33 weeks gestation on February 2nd. As you may know, one of the boys-James, was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Unfortunately, due to being born too early, surgery is no longer an option. They were told he would likely be earth side for a few days to a week. It has been 12 days and James is still with us! Their other son, Vincent is in the NICU and working on feeding and growing. Please see their Caring Bridge site for further updates on the boys.

The unexpected early arrival of these two sweet boys has caused Matthew and Mary to take more unpaid time off work than expected. Vincent will likely be in the NICU for several more weeks until he is ready to be home and will be discharged with many medical bills to follow. If you feel called to help them or offer support in any way, please use this GoFundMe to help support their family during this unimaginable time.

Caringbridge link:

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/bierbaumtwins