Hello all! As some of you may know, we welcomed our micropreemie twin girls into the world extremely early on February 23rd of this year. They were born at 23 weeks and 2 days which is roughly 4 months early at 1lb 2oz each. Since their arrival, our tiny warrior babies have been through more than the average adult and have overcome so much, making them literally the strongest people we know. TJ has had 2 brain operations, a PDA closure in her heart, ROP eye exams, multiple blood transfusions, and multiple rounds of steroids to help her lungs mature as well as a broncoscopy before an extubation attempt that unfortunately didnt go well. She had to be reintubated 2 days after they removed her breathing tube because her lungs were working too hard. A few weeks later, TJ pulled out her own breathing tube and has been extubated since! She decided when she was ready! Zander has also had multiple blood transfusions and rounds of steroids for her lungs as well as ROP exams and treatment which included eye injections and laser surgery on both her eyes. She also had several failed extubation attempts, coded 3 times, and had 3 broncoscopies to determine why she was failing her extubations. Ultimately, she was diagnosed with subglottic stenosis, which is swelling in the airway, and had to have a tracheostomy to bypass the affected area. These are just some of the major things...there were so many small things in between. We are so proud of the amount of strength they have and the things they have achieved!

These last 7 months have been an up and down rollercoaster full of every emotion imaginable. We've been extremely blessed during our stay here with the help of the Ronald Mcdonald house and some wonderful resources from Riley Children's Hospital, not mention the support of our family and friends but my wife and I have both had to take on new employment due to being here for such an extended amount of time in order to continue to keep the funds rolling in. We ultimately decided to relocate to Indianapolis from our home in Henderson, KY to remain close to girls' doctors here at Riley for the follow up appointments they will have after discharge.

Most recently, we have been informed by the nursing staff at Riley that Zander is actually ready to come home! That is news that we have waited patiently for and have prayed to hear. Just hearing the word "home" is such a blessing when in the beginning you're unsure if you ever will. God is so good! TJ is doing wonderful as well but she will come home shortly after Zander as she has a few more things to master before her discharge.

With all that being said, the news of Zander being ready for home came as a surprise to us. We have some things that we need to prepare for her arrival into her new surroundings as she will be coming home with special equipment and will require around the clock care, which means I will have to leave my current job to care for her, placing the load of all of our financial needs onto Taylor. As I said, we have been blessed tremendously in not needing to go this route but we now need whatever help you are willing to give to help us sustain and maintain for the time being. We thank you all in advance and just want to say if you're unable to donate, just please lift us up in prayer and share if you can! Be blessed everyone!