Henrico County, Va. — A Henrico County couple is speaking out after the tragic loss of their twin son and expressing concerns about the care their surviving child received at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
The couple, who had previously suffered two miscarriages, were overjoyed when they welcomed their twin boys on June 19, 2023, at 25 weeks and three days gestation. The mother described the boys as “angel babies,” as the couple had never known the sex of their children before birth. However, their joy was soon overshadowed by a heartbreaking series of events.
Shortly after birth, one of the twins began showing signs of illness. The mother recalled that her second son appeared more sickly than his brother, but hospital staff initially dismissed her concerns, attributing it to the humidity in the incubator. Tragically, on the night of July 12, 2023, the parents received a call from the hospital that their son had passed away in the NICU from necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a life-threatening intestinal condition that causes perforations in the digestive tract.
The parents were devastated by the loss and felt that the hospital had failed to recognize the severity of their son’s condition in time. “I believe they knew about it sooner,” the mother said, reflecting on the moments leading up to her son’s death. It was only after his passing that the couple learned about the NEC diagnosis, which had been documented in their son’s medical records but never shared with them. They also discovered that air had been noted in their son’s abdomen in the days following his birth—information that was not communicated to them.
As they grieved their loss, the parents began to notice troubling changes in the care of their surviving twin. They had been visiting the NICU regularly, bonding with their son by changing his diapers and bathing him. However, they became suspicious when a particular nurse seemed to hover over their child in a way that made it difficult for them to see what was happening during care. Their concerns deepened in early September when the mother received a call from a doctor informing her that bruises had been found on their son’s knees.
“The bruises were on the upper and lower parts of his knees,” the mother explained. “They looked like a ‘C,’ as if someone had been pushing down on his legs.” The parents were left shaken by the discovery and questioned whether their son’s injuries were the result of improper handling.
The parents are now seeking answers and accountability for the care their children received while under the hospital’s supervision. Their experience has raised questions about transparency in medical care and the hospital’s responsibility to inform parents of critical conditions and events involving their newborns.
In the aftermath of these traumatic experiences, the couple continues to mourn their loss while grappling with the emotional toll of their ordeal. They hope that by sharing their story, they can bring attention to the need for better oversight and communication in neonatal care to prevent similar tragedies from happening to other families.
