Nurse Puts Dying Baby Next To Her Twin. She Gives Her A 'Hug' And It Leads To A Miracle

Mar 13, 2019

It's no secret that human touch has the power to express love to others in a way that words sometimes can't. We often think of this power as it relates to romantic love, but that's not the only kind of love that can be demonstrated in this special way.

Sometimes, touch can show the bond between close family members. In fact, in certain instances, it can even impact a person's physical healing.

Medical professionals are starting to realize the power of the human touch for medical use in the United States. This method was actually used to help save a baby's life back in 1995. Paul Jackson of Worchester, MA, was the father of premature twin girls who weighed only 2 pounds when they were born 12 weeks early.

According to CNN, he was told that although the babies seemed to be doing okay that within 42 to 78 hours they may take a turn for the worse.

At three weeks old, the twin girls were not out of the woods concerning their health. Little Brielle was having difficulty breathing. With her heart beating rapidly, her oxygen level plummeting, and her skin turning blue, things didn't look good for the tiny baby.

NICU nurse Gayle Kasparaian suggested an unconventional form of treatment. She wanted to try putting Kyrie, the twin who was doing better physically, right beside Brielle in the same incubator.

The nurse's hope was that this skin-to-skin contact would have a beneficial impact on the weaker twin. This method, called "Kangaroo Care" is used in other parts of the world but wasn't a common practice in the US yet.

Kyrie almost instantly placed her small arm across her sister's body. Media outlets referred to the touch as a "rescuing hug." Amazingly, the treatment seemed to be working!

Right away Brielle's breathing and vital signs showed marked improvement. It seemed as though the touch from her sister was exactly what the small twin needed to become stabilized and calm.

Due to fear of infection, multiples had typically been kept apart when born prematurely in US hospitals up to this point. After the dramatic success of the "Kangaroo Care" treatment that took place that day, hospitals started to revise their practices and allow premie twins and triplets to be together.

Dr. Stuart Weisberger of UMass Memorial Hospital told CNN that the old policies were based on a fear that newborn premies would be too fragile to be placed in the same incubator.

This groundbreaking incident gave them medical professionals the encouragement they needed to start allowing these little ones to stay together even if they were born as early as 23 weeks and placed on ventilators.

You may wonder what became of the twins whose "rescuing hug" treatment caught national attention. We're pleased to tell you that both of them grew up normally and turned out to be perfectly healthy adults.

They've stayed close all their lives. In fact, they often say that they think similar thoughts, finish each other's sentences and interrupt each other both trying to express the same ideas at the same time!

View the video clip below to learn more about their inspiring story. What are your thoughts about this particular incident or the healing power of touch in general? Pass this article along to your friends and family to raise awareness of the importance of physical touch!