My husband Dane and I started dating on May 1, 1999 we were both very young, he was a freshman in High school, and I was in the eighth grade. On May 28, 2005 Dane proposed to me in Kemah, TX on the Kemah Boardwalk, after being together for so long I was ready to be married! We set the date for December 8, 2006. It was such a beautiful Christmas themed wedding. In June of 2007 we decided to start trying for our first child. We had no clue it would happen so fast, and on 7/7/07 I saw my first positive pregnancy test. We were over the moon about it and quickly called everyone and told them about our first baby on the way, we thought we hit the jack pot 777. Sadly six short days later, we suffered from a heartbreaking miscarriage. I never thought it could happen to me.

   On October 6, 2007 I gave my husband a birthday present which included two positive pregnancy tests, a card from me, and a card from a child. We were so happy, but then again so worried that we would go through another miscarriage. When we were 6 weeks and 1 day along we had our first ultrasound. The ultrasound showed TWO sacks!!! We were blown away, because we have no history of twins on either side of our families. On January 24th we found out we were having a girl and a boy! My pregnancy was very uneventful except for morning sickness almost every day. But being sick every day is worth holding two babies in my arms at the end of the journey. On May 1, 2008 (our nine year dating anniversary) I had my 33 week appointment with my OBGYN. I told her I was having Braxton Hicks contractions, and she told me that I was 3cm dilated. She told me that she was going to send me to the specialist I was seeing in Clear Lake Regional Hospital in Webster, TX since they had a level 3 NICU just incase. She told me that he can either stop the labor and I would be hospitalized until I had my babies, or I would have them today. My husband drove me 45 minutes away. Once I got there my specialist checked me and I was 5cm dilated and he told my husband and I that we would be delivering our twins via emergency c-section in 1-2 hours!!!! This by far was the scariest day of my life. Here I carried my babies for 33 weeks and I had a calendar counting down the days until I thought they would arrive. I thought the worse, what if my babies didn’t make it? At 1:54 pm on May 1, 2008 my daughter Kera Jeanne was born weighing in at 4 lbs 12oz and measuring 17” long. One minute later her brother Drake Kohen came into the world weighing 4lbs 12 oz and measuring 19” long. I only got to see them for a split second and they were rushed to the level two NICU. My daughter was breathing on her own, but my son had to have an oxygen hood over him for the first 24 hours. After an hour in recovery they wheeled me into the NICU to see my babies, but only for a few seconds. After the spinal block wore off, and I could stand up to sit in a wheel chair I was able to go see them for about twenty minutes (which was about six hours later). For the four days I was in the hospital recovering, it was so great to go see them, but I envied the women who were right next door with their crying baby and everyone wooing and ahhing. I wanted to be in her shoes, I wanted my babies to be with me. I didn’t get to experience that.

   Drake and Kera were in the NICU for 3 long weeks. I only got to see them for about three hours each day. Whenever my husband got off of work he would pick me up and take me to the hospital 45 minutes away, and we would just sit and watch them. It was hard at first because they were in two separate incubators, but after about a week they were put together, so that made it easier on us. It was so depressing to see your children with IVs, monitors, and feeding tubes through their noses. The more time I got to spend with them the harder it was to leave them at night. What brought a smile to my face, were the volunteers at the hospital who put together goodie bags for the moms in the NICU. My favorite things included crochet booties and hats, mini Bibles, and above all else a necklace with a boy stick figure and a girl stick figure with their birthstones in the middle… this was my favorite! These things are keepsakes now that my babies are three months old, home, and healthy.

   I remember the volunteers that put a smile to my face by giving me hope, so I would like to pay the favor back in my own way. That is why my husband and I have started this nonprofit Baskets for Hope organization. We want to get women, men, and children around the world to donate hand crafted items for these baskets for families in the NICU. You can make a difference, and you can put a smile on somebody’s face. Please contact us to donate now. Thank you so much.

Sincerely,

Melissa and Dane (Founder and Co-Founder of Baskets for Hope)