8
GEORGETOWN HOSPITAL SYSTEM
When
Neely Shepheard and
husband Michael learned they were
expecting twins, they were elated
but not surprised. e couple had
used in vitro fertilization, so they
were aware that the procedure carried
a higher chance for multiple births.
“We were so thrilled to be pregnant,
and we felt like we were blessed with two
babies,” says Shepheard, a nurse at Waccamaw
Community Hospital. “We knew that multiple
births were a strong possibility, so we were
mentally and emotionally ready.”
When another ultrasound showed that the
babies were girls, the couple began to prepare in
earnest for their arrival in late February or early
March.
What they weren’t prepared for was the next bit
of news: A diagnosis of breast cancer.
In October Shepheard had found a lump in
her breast. At rst her doctor thought it could be
mastitis, an in ammation of tissue, but when the
condition did not respond to treatment, Shepheard
was referred to Coastal Carolina Breast Center,
where she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“Christmas was unbelievably hard,” Shepheard
says. “We did not know what was going to happen,
and we were scared.”
Shepheard had a lumpectomy in early January.
A er the twins were born, she underwent radiation.
Even while she struggled with cancer, Shepheard’s
focus was on life. Shepheard credits her obstetrician,
Christine S. Gerber, MD, her family, and her
co-workers on the OB Services oor for helping her
through the emotional upheaval.
Baby-Friendly inside and out
Until she went out on medical leave, Shepheard
was part of the team working to implement
Baby-Friendly practices (see page 6 to learn more
about the program), and she was looking forward
to experiencing those practices firsthand as a
patient.
“I knew that I was going to have a C-section,
and Baby-Friendly practices treat [those] moms
the same way as moms who deliver vaginally,”
Shepheard says. “Even a er surgery, moms and
babies do skin-to-skin, where the babies are put on
the mother’s chest. Moms recover in their rooms,
and healthy babies get to stay with them so they
aren’t separated. And a er all that I had gone
through, my husband and I wanted to be with our
babies as much as possible.”
Babies in the building
At 1 a.m. on Feb. 15, Shepheard went into labor
six weeks early. Later that morning, Allie and
Brinley—weighing in at 4 pounds, 11.1 ounces
and 4 pounds, 14.8 ounces— were delivered by an
emergency C-section.
Her co-workers had the welcome mat out and
were ready for the babies. “Everyone was excited
that it was nally here a er everything that we had
gone through,” says Shepheard. She admits that she
might have had a couple of extra nurses present at
the birth as part of a welcoming committee, but the
treatment she received is the same special treatment
that every patient gets every day.
“We’re a dedicated group, and we treat every
mom and baby as if they were our own family,”
Shepheard says. “Everyone, from the doctors to the
nurses, was attentive and caring. My stay exceeded
my expectations.”
And as for Allie and Brinley—even though they
just missed being Valentines, they’re de nitely their
parents’ sweethearts.
Neely Shepheard holds Allie while Brinley
catches a nap.
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Mom delivers twin girls
a er pregnancy that was
anything but normal
the
joy
Twice
