ARIZONA NEWS

Illinois family faces challenges after premature birth of twins in Phoenix

Oct 24, 2024, 5:00 AM | Updated: 6:43 am

PHOENIX — An Illinois woman traveled to Phoenix earlier this month to visit her sister, a trip that hasn’t ended and won’t come to an end any time soon.

Lauren Sanders was 24 weeks pregnant with twins, more than three months before full term, when she arrived in Arizona on Oct. 9. She had been cleared to travel by her OB-GYN, but the trip quickly took a turn.

The next day, Sanders’ water broke. She was rushed to a Phoenix hospital but her husband, Dacota, was more than 1,300 miles away in Mount Vernon, Illinois.

The coming hours proved to be some of the most stressful for the family. Doctors attempted to delay delivery of the birth, but nothing could be done.

On Oct. 11 around 11 a.m., Lauren gave birth to a boy, Phoenix, then a girl, Seona. Dacota was on his way to the St. Louis airport and missed the births.

“I had a wide range of emotions,” Dacota told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday. “One of them was like, ‘What the heck?’ Everything was clear, we’re good to go.

“The other thing was like, ‘Oh my gosh, my kids, they’re coming.'”

How are the premature babies doing?

The premature births came with complications.

Both children were born with health issues and were transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit after they arrived 16 weeks early. Both children are expected to recover.

“There were just some issues that came up just from how small they are,” Dacota said. “They do have a very, very high chance of not being a big deal over time, but still so scary in the moment when it is so day-to-day.”

As a result, Phoenix won’t be forgotten by the Sanders family any time soon.

Their son being named Phoenix wasn’t a coincidence, with the parents making that decision due to everything that has gone down in a city they never expected to inhabit for as long as they have.

“Probably about a week before she flew out, we both talked about the name Phoenix in relation to her coming down here to see her sister,” Dacota said. “We both really liked that name a lot and once he was born and we talked, we were like, ‘Well, you know, it’s almost like a sign.'”

Illinois family will always remember Phoenix

The one-time vacation has turned into a minimum four-month stay for the Sanders family.

Dacota and their 3-year-old son have joined the rest of the family in Phoenix for the foreseeable future. They won’t return home to Illinois until the twins are in a good spot health-wise.

“It is very crazy being 1,500 miles away from home going through all this,” Dacota said.

The family has been supported by Lauren’s sister and mother, as well as a Valley man who loaned his car to the family. A GoFundMe page has also been set up to help the family.

Overall, the family is pleased to have made the best out of a situation that they never anticipated.

“We’ve had a lot of people back home reach out to give us support,” Dacota said. “A lot of awesome people in our communities have reached out to give what support they can, whether physical or financial or whatever.”

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Kate Ourada contributed to this report.

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Illinois family faces challenges after premature birth of twins in Phoenix