On Valentine’s Day in 2024, Sarah Remmers and her husband, Christopher, found out they were pregnant. After experiencing some light bleeding at the beginning of March, the Ramsey residents headed to The Valley Hospital Emergency Department, where they found out they were pregnant with twins. Unfortunately, at their 12-week appointment, Baby A had complications and was not developing correctly. Sarah and her husband made the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy of twin A so that twin B had the best chance at survival.
“It’s hard to feel pure happiness about a healthy baby and pure sadness about the loss of the other baby at the same time,” said Sarah. “But we were so lucky to have all the love and support from our friends and family, as well as the doctors at Valley.”
When Sarah was 28 weeks pregnant during a vacation to Tampa, Florida, she started to feel contractions and assumed they were Braxton Hicks contractions, also known as false labor. Upon returning to New Jersey and going to the emergency department, they found out she was actually in labor.
“All medications to try to stop the contractions wouldn’t work,” said Sarah. “The whole time I was in the hospital, wondering if I would be delivering early, all of the nurses and doctors I met at Valley were amazing. They listened to me and my concerns and made me feel safe.”
Three days later, on August 6, 2024, at 10:46 p.m., Koa Christopher was born at 28 weeks and six days.
“The plan from the beginning was to deliver our son at The Valley Hospital, but we did not plan a two-month neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) stay for our preemie boy. I felt so many different emotions during that time, and it was a journey I never really thought about going through.”
The night he was born, Koa was taken to the NICU. He weighed 3.1 pounds at birth, which eventually dropped to 2.7 pounds in the first days after birth. He was on a breathing tube for two minutes and then given a nasal cannula, a device used to deliver oxygen, to support his lungs while breathing on his own. He also received medications and nutrients.
“My husband was with Koa every step of the way while I was receiving care immediately after birth. Our main NICU doctor, Carmela Pane, MD, Medical Director of Neonatology and the NICU for Valley Medical Group, as well as others, answered all of our questions, and their level of professionalism and knowledge about tiny humans is unmatched,” said Sarah.
Sarah and her husband visited Koa every day during his two-month stay. “Koa was a true little fighter who only got stronger with each day. He never gave us a real scare or reason to worry, and that is also because of the wonderful care he was receiving.”
During his time in the NICU, the nurses helped Sarah take care of him, assisted with breastfeeding, and shared other maternal health tips. Sarah, who is German, bought books in both German and English and read to him for hours, telling him about the world and all of their plans.
Koa came home on October 2, 2024. He came home on oxygen support but was taken off on November 18.
“Some days were really hard and other days were easier,” said Sarah. “Seeing Koa fighting through every day also gave me the strength to get through that time. I was thinking all the time that if he can do all of this, then I am strong enough to get through this with him. Preemies are small but mighty, and they can handle more than we think.”
Today, Koa is more than six months old, weighs more than 15 pounds, and is healthy. “Koa is our little fighter. His name is Hawaiian and means ‘fighter’ which we found to be very fitting.”
“For anyone going through the NICU experience, remember to get rest when you can, do not blame yourself for going into labor early, and accept all the feelings you are feeling,” said Sarah. “Also, know that your little ones are in wonderful hands at The Valley Hospital. The nurses and doctors love and know what they are doing. The care does not end when you leave the NICU, to this day, I know that Dr. Pane and the rest of the NICU love to receive updates on how Koa is doing.”
For more information about the NICU at The Valley Hospital, please visit ValleyHealth.com/NICU.