PHOENIX — An Illinois family is in Phoenix until their twins born prematurely can leave the hospital.
Lauren Sanders said she and her family flew to Arizona to visit her sister on Oct. 9 and gradually started to experience cramps she realized were contractions.
"[I] told my mom, 'Hey, I think we may need to go to the hospital, get checked out,'" Lauren Sanders said. "It was confirmed that I did have a ruptured membrane with twin boy A and then from there, labor progressed."
Lauren Sanders said the hospital tried to stop the labor but it progressed and her twins Phoenix and Senoa were born on Oct. 11 at 24 weeks.
"There was just a few complications of like a brain bleed and things like that unfortunately are familiar in the NICU world," Lauren Sanders said. "We pray that they just keep getting better and better as the days go on and we can get through this and make it back home to Illinois."
Lauren Sanders and her husband Dacota Sanders have a three-year-old son who has been joining them in their visits to the neonatal intensive care unit at Banner University.
Lauren Sanders said to help their babies in a fragile state, they whisper words of encouragement to them.
"'Hey, Mom and Dad, we're here for you," Lauren Sanders said. "You're going to get so strong. It's okay, like you're well, taken care of'."
Dacota Sanders said interacting with their babies is crucial in helping them develop and grow.
"Some of the nurses said there are studies showing that oxytocin and other chemicals are built in the brain during this process, Dacota Sanders said. "And NICU child with parents that are available there as possible, literally helps them to develop and grow."
The family said although they've tried to put their best foot forward, they've encountered a series of unexpected expenses on top of being thousands of miles away from their home.
"We kind of ran through all our financials, and we ran through all the numbers," Dacota said. "Unfortunately, it's gonna very much set us back in a lot of ways if we don't ask for help."
They have set up a GoFundMe to help pay for some of those expenses.