BILLINGS - A Sheridan family got their chance to thank St. Vincent Healthcare last week after their premature twins spent more than 70 days in the NICU last year.
Their two boys, Zander and Corbin, are now healthy and 13 months old, but it wasn't the easiest journey for the family, according to their mother Kimi Bush.
"I think being in the NICU is a parent's biggest fear," Bush said. "It's just not something you ever get used to. It's hard to sleep. It's hard to remind yourself to eat."
Kimi said the boys were born at just 29 weeks, after dealing with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. It's a rare condition where one twin won't receive the proper amounts of blood.
When the boys first arrived, there weren't any glaring problems. In the days that followed, Kimi got a call about Zander, who had developed an intestinal infection common in premature babies.
Zander underwent his first operation at just four days old.
"For most people, you go to the hospital, you have a baby and you get to go home with your baby," Kimi said. "Every time we came, we had to go home without a baby and it was devastating."
That routine carried on for more than three months. Corbin eventually went home after 73 days, while Zander was there for 84 days.
"With all those ups and downs, we had a lot of really good days and we had a lot of hard days," Kimi said.
Now, the boys are more than a year old, and the family got their chance to thank the pediatric unit at St. Vincent's who helped their boys survive.
"Getting to see these people and show them these boys after year has just been really awesome," Kimi's husband, Gregory Bush, said. "These people were like our family through this whole thing and we couldn't be more grateful."
The Bush family's visit back to the NICU wasn't just overwhelming for them but also the caregivers. Nurse practitioner Ruth Anderson was a huge part of the twins' NICU stay and said the moment they walked through the doors, it felt like a dream.
"To be able to see them now and they're a year old and starting to walk, it's just such a blessing," Anderson said. "It brings tears to your eyes. To see them laugh and giggle and be able to crawl around and do normal baby things, they're just incredibly strong."
Kimi said getting the chance to thank St. Vincent's in person meant a lot to her family.
"I get to come back into the NICU and I get to show all of these nurses like, 'Look at what you did for us,'" Kimi said. "We have two very healthy babies, and we're incredibly lucky."
The Bush family are just one example of a record-breaking year at the St. Vincent's NICU, which saw 331 babies born there last year. It's a big reason why the hospital's foundation holds its Call For Kids mediathon each year.
That mediathon is set to kick off 6 a.m. Tuesday. Call 406-237-3600 or text KIDS to 32037 for information on donating.
