09/17/2025
💚Happy NICU Awareness Month💚
APFRC is so proud to have served this family before, during, and after their NICU experience:
Being NICU parents was one of the hardest journeys we have ever faced, but also one of the most rewarding. We are forever grateful for the incredible NICU staff at Sutter Sacramento Neonatal Intensive Care Unit who walked alongside us every step of the way.
At 30 weeks, I had an emergency C-section just five days after we learned that we had lost one of our identical twin boys in utero. During delivery, we were able to meet and hold our angel baby, Wylder, for a very short but precious time. Moments later, his twin brother, Beau, was born and immediately rushed to the NICU.
Beau spent his first 24 hours on a ventilator before being transitioned to CPAP, where he remained for nearly two months. From there, he moved to oxygen support, then room air, and after 77 long days in the NICU, we were finally able to bring him home.
Those months were filled with grief for Wylder, worry for Beau, and the daily struggle of leaving the hospital without our babies in our arms. We were blessed to stay at the Ronald McDonald House in Sacramento, which gave us a home close to the hospital and the ability to be by Beau’s side as much as possible.
We celebrated every tiny milestone along the way, each one a step closer to bringing Beau home. The NICU staff, our nurses, child life specialist, lactation consultants, and respiratory therapists were nothing short of amazing. They became part of our family, and the care, compassion, and strength they gave us during that season is something we will never forget.
We still keep in touch with some of them to this day, and we are so grateful for the role they played in Beau’s story!
Our NICU journey shaped us in ways we never imagined. Though it was filled with heartache and uncertainty, it was also filled with miracles, strength, and love. We will forever carry Wylder in our hearts and celebrate Beau’s resilience. To every NICU family walking this path know that you are not alone, and that every small step forward is a victory worth celebrating!
Forever Grateful,
The McCain’s
