Premature babies, families, caregivers gather for 35th reunion

A family reunion Saturday in Colorado Springs presented a different kind of family — one not entirely related but with a strong connection.

The 35th annual event at Boulder Park, next door to Memorial Hospital Central, featured around 200 people born prematurely, some now adults with their own children, others recently or still requiring medical care.

The reunion offers the staff of the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit a chance to check up on the condition of their premature patients, and provides patients and families an opportunity to thank the hospital for treatment that likely saved many lives.

Matthew and Mandy Douglas attended the reunion and are grateful for the care received by their 2-year-old twin boys, Luke and Dean.

“They were born at 24 weeks,” said Matthew Douglas. “They were in the hospital for six months. Their (odds) of survival were low. The hospital did everything it could for our boys to have a chance at survival.”

The Douglases said they don’t know why their boys were born three months early.

“There’s often no explanation or reason,” said Mandy Douglas. “I was having a healthy pregnancy and had a good checkup the day before. I suddenly had labor pains and they didn’t stop.”

Luke and Dean still have medical needs: digestive issues, feeding tubes, special diets and cerebral palsy in Dean’s legs that make walking difficult.

“Families face not only physical and emotional struggles caring for premature babies, but considerable financial costs as well,” said Debbie Mielcarek, the hospital’s director of inpatient pediatric services. “We try to help families in all of those areas.”

Mandy Douglas appreciates the help.

“It’s almost impossible to handle without hope for the future,” she said. “You don’t have an option to give up. The hospital was our family and support. Because of them, we’re able to be a family of four.”