Once upon a time…
Alexis, Brianna and Carlie Bell
Sherry and Graydon Bell of Wahpeton, N.D., knew they might be in for a challenge. Two weeks into their pregnancy, they learned they'd have triplets. At 17 weeks, Sherry started having labor pains, prompting 15 weeks of strict bed rest and medication to control contractions.
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Faith and Hope Stramer
Just a few hours before their twin girls were born, Dani and Wyatt Stramer agreed the names would be perfect: Faith and Hope. "We knew that given our situation, with our girls being born at only 24 weeks, we would need plenty of faith and hope to get us through," says the Grand Forks mom.
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Luke Toutenhoofd
Hours passed and still Jamie and Eric Toutenhoofd hadn't seen their new son. Born a full-term baby on Feb. 25 in Grand Forks, he had unexpected, life-threatening problems. "It was very scary, and it came as a total surprise," says Eric. "We were really glad to find out they were in contact with the people in Fargo because we'd heard they had a Children's Hospital there, but we didn't know much about it."
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Lee and Luke Bjorkland
When Pam Bjorkland's water broke one Saturday morning in September 2001, she knew something was terribly wrong. She was only six months pregnant. "Doug was on his way to a cattle sale and I was home with our 16-month-old son when it happened," she says. "I called my mom and we hightailed it to the hospital in Alexandria, Minn." The Bjorklands live in the Henning, Minn. area.
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Gretchen Finseth
To look at her now, you'd never know that in her first days of life baby Gretchen had a breathing problem so serious she nearly died. But her parents, Melissa and Larry Finseth, remember it well. "As soon as she was born, I knew something was terribly wrong," says Melissa. "I kept asking, 'Is she okay? Is she okay?' but she was whisked away quickly."
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Charlie Solberg
Char and Michael Solberg, of Fargo, hoped the birth of their second child would go just as smoothly as the birth of their firstborn, Grace. But five months into the pregnancy, they learned differently.
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