When Stacey Kendall went to work on the morning of May 24, 2011, she never imagined that an hour later she would be in an operating theatre at Melbourne’s Royal Women’s Hospital delivering her twin sons by emergency caesarian.
Only 25 weeks and five days into her pregnancy, the Werribee mother thought she had more time to prepare. But Joshua and Owen didn’t want to wait.
Doctors told Stacey and her husband, Adrian, to prepare for the worst.
“The paediatrician didn’t give them good odds on surviving or not having significant disabilities,” Mrs Kendall said. “We still have the paperwork from our specialist that we received the next morning to prepare us for the worst.”
For the next 110 days, the Kendalls juggled running their business with visiting Joshua and Owen at the Royal Women’s Hospital and, later, the Royal Children’s Hospital, hoping they would beat the odds.
“All the stories I found were of sad endings,” Mrs Kendall said. “That caused a fair bit of upset and depression, and that’s partly why I wanted to talk about what happened to us. I want to help other parents.”
Mrs Kendall credits the Life’s Little Treasures Foundation with helping her family through.
The charity’s volunteers visit sick and premature babies in hospital, providing their families with support, friendship and information.
With Joshua and Owen turning three next Sunday, Mrs Kendall is urging other parents to support Life’s Little Treasures.
“They make a difference. They are dear to our hearts,” she said.
More details: lifeslittletreasures.org.au
