This Father’s Day holds extra meaning for Dr. Andrew Marple, who, for the first time, can celebrate the holiday with his wife Danielle and both of their twin daughters – Adriana and Sophia – who are home from Sarasota Memorial Hospital and thriving.
The two girls were born a minute apart in October 2023, at just 25 weeks gestation.
Adriana and Sophia faced an uphill battle from the beginning.
Their mother, Danielle Marple, a critical care nurse practitioner with First Physicians Group, developed severe early-onset preeclampsia and was hospitalized at Sarasota Memorial Hospital when she was only 23 weeks pregnant.
Just over two weeks later, the twins were delivered when Danielle’s condition became critical.
Dr. Marple is a medical oncologist and member of Sarasota Memorial’s Brian D. Jellison Cancer Institute team.
Adriana weighed just one pound, four ounces at birth. Sophia was even smaller, weighing only 11 ounces.
Despite the odds, both girls received expert, round-the-clock care in the SMH Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
Sophia went home just in time for the Marples’ first Father’s Day in 2024.
Adriana required nearly a full year hospitalized before joining her family at home.
Now reunited, Adriana and Sophia are making tremendous progress – healthy, happy, and catching up on their milestones.
Their parents say the journey has been a testament not only to their babies’ strength, but also to the dedication of the neonatal intensive care team at SMH.
“You worry for so long when they’re so sick in the NICU, ‘what is our life going to look like?’ And your brain goes to dark places and you think, are they going to be okay?” Marple, a medical oncologist with Intercoastal Medical Group, said in a prepared statement. “And here we are, healthy babies that we’re able to travel with, take them places and they brighten up the room anytime anybody gets to meet them.”
Danielle Marple added, “The care at SMH was next level. We obviously were very scared going into this whole situation, but everyone from every single area of the hospital really just exceeded our expectations and they’ve become like family to us.”
To add even more joy to this year’s Father’s Day celebration, the Marple family recently announced they are expecting a baby boy this fall.
To learn more about the maternity services at SMH, including the NICU, visit https://www.smh.com/baby.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota family celebrates first Father’s Day at home with twins prematurely
Reporting by Staff Report / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
