A Medical Dream Team
by Ellen Orr
The number-one place no parents want to find themselves is the NICU. But that’s here John and Liz Flippo spent the two weeks following the births of their twin boys, Mark Hutchins and John Allen. And while, no doubt, the experience was scry and long, Liz remembers those fourteen days—and the months preceding—with deep gratitude for the entire CHRISTUS St. Michael team.
John and Liz initially struggled to become pregnant, but soon after they began testing for infertility, Liz became pregnant with who would become the couple’s first child–daughter Gabbie Jane, born in March 2015.
“We knew we wanted to spend some time as a family of three, but our ‘ideal family’ was a family of four,” Liz recalled. In June of 2018, they celebrated a positive pregnancy test. In July, they celebrated two sacs on the ultrasound screen.
“I knew immediately what that meant, but John thought it was a split-screen view of one baby,” Liz said. “He didn’t say anything for what seemed like hours after we were told there were two healthy heartbeats on the screen.”
Twins do run in Liz’s family–her mother is a twin–but, even so, the couple was shocked. “I called my dad from the parking lot of Dr. [Kenneth] West’s office, crying, ‘I’m having twins, and I’m so scared!'” Liz remembered. “I’ll never forget his voice with excitement, almost laughter, saying, ‘Baby, there is not one bad thing about this.’ And he was right.”
Liz had a normal, healthy twin pregnancy until her 30th week, when she reported to her doctor that she had been experiencing slight cramping. After testing, it was discovered that she was having contractions just minutes apart–preterm labor. She was sent to St. Michael’s for overnight observation. “That visit to St. Michael’s would be my first of five,” Liz said. “We spent around 17 total days in the hospital across five weeks, trying to keep the brothers from being born.”
It was during these frequent stays that the Flippos’ family expanded to include the Labor and Delivery Nurses. “It almost became a joke when we would walk through those doors every Thursday or Friday to start our weekends with them,” she laughed. “We spent so much time there that we eventually knew how to hook up the monitors, adjust them, unhook them, read the contraction reports … We were pros.”
It wasn’t only the nurses who became as close as kin. “I call Dr. Kenneth West my one-man medical dream team,” Liz said. “He’s delivered all three of our children, and the level of care he gave with both of my pregnancies was something I’ll never forget. With the twins, he spent many nights at the hospital when he wasn’t on call in case my contractions turned into real labor. He consulted with high-risk OB teams to make sure they agreed with his practice, and he consoled many tears, fears, and irrational thoughts from a hormonal, uncomfortable, worrisome woman. He’s just the best in the world.”
On January 12, 2019, Liz was at home on bed rest when he counted 12 contractions in an hour. It was go time. On January 13, Hutchins and John Allen were born at 35 weeks and one day. John Allen was immediately sent to the NICU due to his size, blood sugar level, significant bruising from birth, and his inability to regulate his body temperature. Hutchins spent one night in the postpartum room with his parents before joining John Allen in the NICU for similar reasons. It would be two weeks before the family would spend a night at home together. Over those two weeks, John and Liz came to know the NICU team as angels.
“Texarkana has no idea how lucky we are to have St. Micahel’s NICU team,” Liz said. “So many people don’t even know they’re there! Dr. Susan Keeney and the nurses were sent to the NICU straight from Heaven; I’m convinced of it. After the brothers arrived in the NICU, we learned that they had been preparing for the ‘Flippo twins’ for five weeks. When we arrived, we were welcomed with open arms into a village we’d come to madly adore. They prayed with us, wiped tears, cheered as we met goals, encouraged us. The big place in my heart next to the ones for L&D and Dr. West is for them.”
Asked to describe her feelings about St. Michael’s, Liz gushed with gratitude. “When it comes to our experience with CHRISTUS St. Michael, there just aren’t enough words to accurately describe our appreciation and adoration for them,” she said.
