The Beejack Family

Piper’s parents always knew that they would have a child of their own to love. After 12 years of countless failed attempts at both eastern and western fertility treatments, IUI, IVF, miscarriage; Piper’s parents, Cassady and Bobby Beejack, decided to gather money for one final try at having a baby. Their last shot at IVF worked and they conceived, but there was uncertainty that the pregnancy would be “conducive to life” due to a chromosome issue that was discovered in a previous pregnancy. They were cautiously optimistic and waited as each test came back confirming the health of their baby. Once the last tests showed that their child did not carry the same chromosome issues, they announce the news of their baby girl to their friends and family…Cassady was just over 18 weeks pregnant. Neither of them thought that just three weeks later Cassady would be being rushed to Monmouth Medical Center from another hospital via ambulance, in labor with a baby too young to be born. The doctor’s advised that their baby girl was just too small to save. With the guidance of medical staff, a bereavement counselor, lots of prayer, the support of family, and the strength of their love; Cassady and Bobby set to work making final arrangements for their daughter. They had only learned of the babies gender a few short weeks prior, so they worked on selecting a name. She would be called Piper because she was going to be born as tiny as a bird and Claire because they believed that she possessed the strong will of her great grandmother. Day turned into night and one day led to the next, and before they knew it Cassady was still in that same hospital room, making it 9 more days – all the while with a prolapsed membrane and umbilical cord - to 23 weeks gestation!

On the morning of Piper’s birth, the doctor came into the room to do a bedside ultrasound and discovered that the Piper would need to be delivered immediately. Although the baby was stronger now their doctors gently prepared them for the very real possibility that she would not make it and if she did the very long bumpy road that she had ahead. That morning their 1 lb 5.8 oz baby girl came into this world and was whisked away by the experienced hands of the Monmouth Medical Center NICU team. She would stay in their skilled hands for another 130 days before she was strong enough to go home with her adoring parents. She was exactly 23 weeks and 2 days gestation…a micro preemie. She was too small to breath on her own, too premature for her parents to hold her, too underdeveloped to even have a fully formed eye and eyelids that could open.

Making it to 23 weeks gestation to be born wasn’t going to be the first time that Piper defied the odds. Piper’s family held their breath everyday those first few months and celebrated each day as another victory. During her NICU stay she was cared for and help to overcome and deal with many health obstacles; among them was a brain bleed, a congenital heart issue, lung disease that required her be on oxygen support until she was almost a year old, an intestinal infection, many blood transfusions, and countless daily respiratory scares to name a few. She certainly kept the MMC NICU team on their toes, but the incredibly talented staff was always up to the challenge.

During Piper’s NICU stay they had many scares, but also many joys; like the first day she opened her eyes, the first time her parents got to hold her, the first time she was able to wear clothes, her first bottle, dressing their baby in a doll dress to meet Santa, and ringing in the New Year as a family for the first time and toasting with sparkling cider with the NICU staff that had become family to them.

The NICU team was not just a group of doctors, nurses, and therapists, they were family. At one of the roughest moments in the Beejack family’s life, the NICU team made every milestone important. They delivered the hard news with compassion and honesty, they fostered a collaborative environment where Bobby and Cassady had a voice and felt a part of the team from morning rounds to evening chats with the night time attending, and above all they treated Piper with the skill, precision, and love that help her over every hurdle.

Piper is now over 2 years old and continues to exude the same strength and joy that got her through the NICU hurdles. She has overcome so much and with her tenacity…and with the help of her specialists, therapists, and parents she is achieving more every day…but she wouldn’t even be here to support if it wasn’t for the INCREDIBLE team at Monmouth Medical Center! For that Piper’s family will forever live in gratitude and an unending love and appreciation for the Monmouth Medical Center team and NICU staff that words alone could never fully express.

The Durborow Family

Going into labor at 23 weeks is not something anyone ever expects. On November 22, 2017 the Durborow twins were born, Colbie and Bennett, just 23 weeks gestation, only weighing 1 lb. each. The fight had just begun and we knew that the road would be long and difficult. About two days later, our son Bennett lost his fight. He became our angel and Colbie’s guardian; as she went on to spend 153 days in the NICU. 

        Those 153 days were not just days that passed though. Each day held a new excitement, a new fear and a new challenge. Each step into the NICU was a worry-full one, wondering and hoping that Colbie had a good night. Some days we came in to good news and accomplished milestones. Some days we came in to bad news. The rollercoaster was real and the only constant was the care provided by the MMC nurses and doctors. Colbie went through several battles- a bilateral grade 3 and grade 4 brain bleed, developed hydrocephalus, had a reservoir placed, had two trips to CHOP’s NICU, had a shunt placed, had a trip to Jefferson’s NICU and had eye surgery, shunt malfunctions and shunt revisions, and every time we came back home to Monmouth. The MMC NICU became our home and the staff became our family. 

        As Colbie grew, we watched her thrive. We watched her beat the odds repeatedly. Each milestone was being checked off and we were getting closer to going home. She went from an isolette to an open crib, from a NG tube to bottle feeds, from CPAP to cannula to no oxygen support at all, from a heat warmer to swaddled in blankets, transforming before our eyes into a strong and healthy baby. On day 153, 5 months and 2 days later, we took Colbie home. She is now an amazing, happy, chatty, silly, loving two year old who continues to prove the world wrong. She is the story nurses and doctors tell to give others hope. 

The NICU is never an easy place but after being to two others, it was confirmed that MMC is among the best. We made friends with other families while there, created support systems, leaned on the nurses for translations, had recurring, down to earth, “tell me how it is” conversations with the doctors, and always felt at home. They guided us through the darkest times, celebrated each moment of joy and taught us how to be the best parents possible. We cannot thank the NICU staff at Monmouth Medical enough for all they have done for our daughter and our family.