Lennyn and Luna Kemp of Moosomin are living proof that a fighting spirit, combined with a world-class medical team and facility, can overcome just about any obstacles.
The twins’ story begins on May 3, 2018 - the day they were born at 27 weeks by emergency C-section at Regina’s General Hospital (RGH). The emergency procedure was needed because the babies were in breach and could not be delivered in Moosomin. Lennyn was born first, weighing just 2.5 pounds. Luna arrived a few minutes later, weighing two pounds, 12 ounces. The twins were immediately whisked away to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Rawlco Centre for Mother Baby Care, which would become their home for the next 79 days.
“They wheeled me into the NICU and the girls had all sorts of tubes and cords hooked up to them,” says the twin’s mother, Courtney Fletcher. “As a first-time mother and not being able to hold my babies, that was heart-breaking. Four days later I finally got to hold them for the first time.”
Courtney stayed with relatives in Regina and spent each day at RGH, while the twins resumed the process of finishing their natural development under the care and watchful eyes of the NICU staff. The tiny, fragile infants were monitored and treated for brain bleeds and heart murmurs, with their medical team utilizing ultrasound and X-ray technology purchased with the help of donations to Hospitals of Regina Foundation.
“I can’t say enough about how our family was treated at the NICU,” Courtney explains. “Having access to such a great facility, with all the technology and the great doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, dieticians, pharmacists and everyone else was incredible.”
The day Courtney and her boyfriend David Kemp were waiting for arrived on July 21, when the twins, now weighing five pounds each, were discharged and sent home with their parents to Moosomin. Today, Lennyn and Luna are healthy and happy and, other than routine pediatric check-ups in Regina every few months, are just like any other youngsters approaching their first birthdays.
To demonstrate their gratitude, Courtney and her family launched a fundraising drive that raised $6,000 for the 2019 Z99 Radiothon in support of Regina’s NICU. She plans to continue the fundraising efforts every year.
“Almost 500 babies receive life-saving care at Regina’s NICU each year,” says Dino Sophocleous, president and CEO, Hospitals of Regina Foundation. “Our community’s support of the Foundation enables us to provide world-class care for southern Saskatchewan children, right here at home.”
To learn more about the Rawlco Centre for Mother Baby Care,
click here to watch a short video.