Triple the love, double the hope

Surviving NICU triplets celebrate 22nd birthday at ETCH

When triplets Hannah, Lily and Kate were born 3 months premature, they were brought immediately to East Tennessee Children’s Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Weighing just barely 2 pounds each, the three girls recovered quickly under the care and guidance of Children’s Hospital medical staff. They quickly outgrew the need for respirators, which helped them breathe initially while their lungs continued to develop.

Unfortunately, the smallest triplet, Lily, developed an infection that would claim her life at just 3 weeks old. But in the face of heartbreaking loss, parents John and Joanna never lost faith that Children’s Hospital would help Hannah and Kate survive to live long, healthy lives.

Twenty-two years later, Hannah and Kate came by the hospital as they do every year in March to celebrate their birthday and NICU graduation date with the team of nurses and providers in the NICU.

It was an emotional reunion as the two young women stooped to hug nurses who once held them when they weighed just 2 pounds.

While some staff – like their attending neonatologist Dr. Stephen Prinz – have retired, all available staff in the NICU make a point to stop by for a hug and a piece of cake, and the opportunity to see the embodiment of their labor and passion. Even the youngest NICU nurse, roughly the same age as the Felton triplets, is humbled by the girls’ annual return. It’s an opportunity for all to reflect on the precious miracle of life, the hard work of trained professionals, and the moments that turn strangers into family.