Miracle Of Life

Twin girls, Brielle and Kyrie, were born 12 weeks ahead of their due date. Needing intensive care, they were placed in separate incubators. Kyrie began to gain weight and her health stabilized. But Brielle, born only 2 lbs, had trouble breathing, heart problems and other complications. She was not expected to live.

Their nurse did everything she could to make Brielle’s health better, but nothing she did was helping her. With nothing else to do, their nurse went against hospital policy and decided to place both babies in the same incubator. She left the twin girls to sleep and when when she returned she found a sight she could not believe. She called all the nurses and doctors and this is what they saw (refer to the picture above). As Brielle got closer to her sister, Kyrie put her small little arm around her, as if to hug and support her sister. From that moment on, Brielle’s breathing and heart rate stabilized and her health became normal.

Detailed: The story talks about two premature born twin girls Brielle and Kyrie while both were placed in a incubator, claiming that as Kyrie put her little arm around her sister Brielle who was critical, she started breathing well and her health became normal. The story is a fact. This incident of a sister's helping hand came to be popularly known as 'The Rescuing Hug'. The story goes back to October 17, 1995, when Heidi and Paul Jackson had twin girls named Brielle and Kyrie, born 12 weeks before their due date. So as a standard practice, the twin girls were placed in two separate incubators in the neonatal intensive care unit at The Medical Center of Central Massachusetts, Worcester. Kyrie was growing well and healthy, but Brielle, with breathing and heart-rate problems could not grow well. On November 12, Brielle suddenly went into critical condition, unable to breathe properly, and her thin arms and legs turned bluish-gray. Her heart rate went high, and she got hiccups, a dangerous sign that worried the parents and the medical staff if she might die. The nurse attendant, Gayle Kasparian tried everything to stabilize Brielle, by increasing the oxygen flow to the incubator, even then Brielle could not breathe properly and her heart rate soared.

Then Kasparian remembered an unconventional treatment procedure that is common in parts of Europe, by double-bedding the multiple-birth babies, especially the premature born ones. After discussing the same with the terrified parents, she placed Brielle into her sister's incubator, whom she hadn't seen since birth. As soon as the incubator door was closed, Brielle snuggled up to her sister Kyrie and began to calm down. Within few minutes, Brielle's blood-oxygen readings improved and she dozed off into sleep. Here is where the tender magic happened - Kyrie wrapped her left arm around her sister Brielle, as if to hug her; and as a result, her heart rate stabilized, her temperature became normal. In due course of time, the twins went home healthy, and according to the Jackson couple, the twin sisters slept together on same bed even after five years.

The story, popularly referred to as the 'Rescuing Hug' appeared in Reader's Digest and Life magazine as well. More importantly, this incident generated medical interest in co-bedding the premature twins, triplets, and quads. Premature twins were generally placed in separate incubators in order to avoid twin-to-twin infection, but clinical studies after this incident have shown that the babies will enjoy substantial benefits when placed in same bed together.

The story is a proof of the power of gentle human touch, signifies the importance of healthy physical contact and shows that love and affection can do wonders. A little bit of tender love towards fellow human beings indeed goes a long way.