Twins Get a 'Super’ Start to Life, Thanks to DCMH’s NICU Team

DCMH NICU patients Greyson, right, and Harley, sport their new Philadelphia Eagles onesies in anticipation of the big game on Feb. 4.

Mark Diaz and Albert Perez, of Sharon Hill, admit they were nervous when their twins were born in November 2017. It wasn’t because they were now parents – the pair had helped raise Diaz’s two nephews – but because their newborns arrived unexpectedly at just 27 weeks’ gestation.

Diaz credits the babies’ gestational carrier, who sensed something wasn’t right, for getting to the hospital when she needed to. That instinct proved right, for when the surrogate arrived at Delaware County Memorial Hospital, OB/GYN Elizabeth Louka, M.D. examined her and determined the babies would soon be on their way. “Her water had broken and she was 10 centimeters dilated,” Diaz recalls. Approximately two hours later, baby boy Greyson and girl Harley were born one minute apart, measuring 16" in length. Greyson weighed just 2 pounds, 12 ounces and Harley checked in at 2 pounds, 5 ounces.

Their journey, however, had just begun.

For nearly three months, the twins were cared for by DCMH’s skilled NICUteam. The babies had nearly every intervention necessary to strengthen their underdeveloped lungs, regulate their body temperature, and deliver food until they were ready to eat on their own.

Finally, on Saturday, Feb. 3, Greyson and Harley got to go home – sporting their new Philadelphia Eagles jerseys purchased by the NICU nurses. Diaz, a die-hard Eagles fan, can’t hide his excitement at the prospect of a potentially history-making moment in his home with his husband and children right there. “Actually, I get a little emotional during the games,” he jokes, adding that he will probably watch the big game in an adjoining room to keep the noise down for the twins.

Above all, Diaz and Perez say they will be forever grateful for the nurses who cared for their children when they were not able to. Who helped them grow stronger day by day, thrive, and come home to the family waiting to hold them, love them and care for them.

“What the nurses have done for us is amazing,” Diaz says. “We’ve learned so much. They are a Godsend and our angels. God bless them.”

DCMH and Crozer are members of the Crozer Health. Crozer Health is Delaware County’s leading provider of maternity care and offer services that include a well-baby nursery, an Intensive Care Nursery, Maternal/Fetal Medicine services, childbirth education classes and fertility services. For more information, visit crozerkeystone.org/Maternity. Call 1-800-254-3258 (1-800-254-3258) for a referral to an obstetrician or midwife.