From 911 to ER to NICU – they saved me and my girls

It required a series of miracles for Allison Nygaard to become pregnant with twins. Not only are twins absent from her family tree, but Allison suffered a life-threatening miscarriage the month before their conception. Still in recovery, she and her husband Brent couldn’t imagine receiving a double dose of pink. Plus, they had no way of foreseeing the next series of miracles necessary for Allison and her girls to survive the dangerous circumstances of their birth. 

Do you know what an umbilical cord feels like? 

At 3:00am, Allison woke up with a jolt of pain. At just 29 weeks gestation, she hoped it wasn’t a contraction, but after going to the bathroom, she noticed her water had broken. Then she noticed something even more alarming. 

“All of a sudden, I felt a relief of pressure and could tell something had happened. So, I put my hand down and could feel something that felt like tissue,” Allison said. 

Instinctively, Allison knew she was feeling the umbilical cord. What she didn’t know was that an umbilical cord descending before the baby, also known as a prolapsed cord, can quickly escalate into a life-threatening situation for both mother and baby. 

An umbilical cord provides the baby with oxygen and blood. If the cord becomes compressed, it cuts off the baby’s oxygen and blood supply. That’s why the chance of a baby surviving a prolapsed cord delivery outside of the hospital is a dismal 0 to 1 percent; inside the hospital the survival rate is 10 percent.

EMTs: Relieving pressure, providing peace

Brent called 911 and told them he thought his pregnant wife was having contractions and that her water may have broken, and paramedics quickly arrived at their home. Brent stayed behind with their young son until a family member could arrive, and Allison breathed through intensifying contractions as she loaded into the ambulance. 

“When they asked which hospital I wanted to go to, I told them Lone Peak Hospital. For some reason, knowing Lone Peak has a Level 3 NICU had always been important to me, but even at this point I didn’t realize I would need it,” Allison said. 

Allison noted that every member of her emergency medical transportation team remained calm; so calm that she didn’t fully comprehend the chilling severity of her situation. 

One paramedic, named JP, called Lone Peak to alert the ER team of their impending arrival and receive instructions. 

“He told me he needed to relieve pressure. So, essentially, he used his hand to push back on Baby A,” Allison said. “His hand and entire forearm held the baby above the cord in order to save her. He was in an awkward position, but he held it the entire way to the hospital.”
ER compassion and vital communication

The transition between the emergency team and Lone Peak’s highly skilled Emergency Room team was executed with speed and precision. The ER team met Allison at the ambulance’s doors, and a petite and powerful ER nurse named Stacy switched places with J.P. the paramedic. With Stacy’s background in Labor and Delivery and the NICU, she offered a deep level of expertise and compassion to Allison.

 “My eyes were closed. I was screaming and crying. Through the tears I remember saying, ‘It hurts so bad!’ as I held onto the side of the gurney. The Emergency team raced me down the hallway with Staci balanced on the gurney, and then she reached over and held my hand. With one hand, she held up the baby inside me, and with one hand she held me. In that moment, I felt like I wasn’t alone,” Allison said. 

The emergency crew rushed Allison to the ER’s operating room for an emergency C-section. This transition was also orchestrated purposefully – with carefully choreographed movements by each team member.  While Allison kept her eyes closed, she could hear the choir of urgent voices prepping for surgery. Then, as the anesthesiologist placed an oxygen mask, Allison began panicking. 

She thought about all the things her medical teams didn’t know about her – like how she is allergic to a medical adhesive and how she had a pregnancy-related cough that caused breathing issues. They needed to know all that! But a pronounced thought clearly came to mind: What is the most important thing they need to know? 

Allison tried ripping off the oxygen mask. Her arms flew about as she struggled, but she knew what she must tell her medical teams. She got one word out, “Twins!” before the anesthesia began kicking in. As the world faded to darkness she heard a doctor respond, “Did she just say twins?” 

NICU: Providing intensive care 

The emergency C-section delivered Mabel and Rosie into the world. They arrived just two minutes apart and only 52 minutes after their father called 911. Incredible! 

At just 29 weeks gestation, Mabel weighed 2 lbs. 15 oz and Rosie weighed 3 lbs. 1 oz. Thankfully, Lone Peak’s Level 3 NICU stands equipped to provide critical care for premature babies born as early as 28 weeks gestation. 

Allison said she knew her tiny girls were in the best hands. Each team that had served her and her babies so far had given their all, and this was no exception. The team of neonatologists and specialized nurses provided them with round-the-clock care and kindness.

“In addition to the incredible care and medical expertise, they were like our therapists. So many of them shared their own NICU experiences, and their words meant so much to us,” Allison said. “From the beginning, they were positive and supportive and encouraging.”

Day in and day out, the NICU team helped Allison and Brent grow in confidence and comfort as their little ones grew in strength and stamina. To Allison and Brent, the Lone Peak NICU team felt like family. Everyone there loved and looked after their two miracle babies. 
Eventually, the girls grew strong enough to go home. Mabel flew the NICU nest at 67 days and Rosie followed at 71 days. 

“I remember saying to the NICU team, ‘We’ll go home, and we will live our life, and we will think about you every day – and we get to do all that because of you. You guys just get up and go to work, but you are literally saving lives!’” Allison said.

Every person makes a difference

Today, Mabel and Rosie are happy and healthy. In fact, gushing paramedics, emergency and NICU team members attended their first birthday party, as the Lone Peak family continues to cheer for this young, sweet family. 

Allison says the skills and support and seamless care of her medical saviors – from paramedics to emergency crew to NICU teams – cannot be measured. With tears, she expressed her gratitude and awe for every individual and how their unified, harmonious efforts saved her and her family. She realizes it’s their collective contributions that add up to the miracle of her living, thriving girls. 

 “I can’t even think through the sheer number of people involved,” Allison said. “I try to ignore the fact that if one thing had been different, it could have all been different. … It was the difference between having our girls here or not, and it makes me eternally grateful for every single Lone Peak person and their families.”