Courtney and Matthew Christoffers; along with their sons Grant, Anthony and Avery and daughters Lucy and Rosemary; have been named Official Ambassadors for the Greater Oregon Chapter of March of Dimes. They want to promote a story of hope and also stress the need for more research and technology to prevent early deliveries like theirs. The Christoffers live in Vancouver and both work in the medical field. Courtney as a nurse and Matthew as a lab technician.
Nearly five months before her twins were due, Courtney began having contractions. At only 22 weeks gestation, Anthony was born. Courtney spent the next three days in trendelenberg (feet up position) getting magnesium to stop the contractions and steroid shots to speed up lung development of Anthony’s twin, Grant. Then Grant was born. Anthony had a massive stroke after his birth and lived for five days. Grant lived for nearly six months. Both boys spent all of their short lives in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Courtney was there every day.
Courtney and Matthew went on to have three more children, all born full-term. Son Avery is now nine years old, and daughters Lucy and Rosemary are seven and three, respectively.
The Christoffers family is serving as the Official 2015 March of Dimes Ambassadors to help raise awareness about the lifesaving research and support funded by March of Dimes for maternal and infant health.
Courtney and Matthew are thankful for March of Dimes funded research, “Without March of Dimes we wouldn’t have had the time we did with the twins,” said Courtney.
Did you know …
*In an average week in Washington, 1,665 babies are born and 161 (9.7%) of them are preterm. In an average week in Oregon, 877 babies are born and 82 (9.3%) of them are preterm. Nationally, 11.4% of babies are born too soon.
*Prematurity and birth defects together account for the majority of infant deaths, both in the first month and the first year of life.
