On June 30, our lives changed forever when our identical twin girls, Hallie Lumi and Faith Julianna-Rae, entered the world at just 26 weeks and 2 days gestation.

They were born incredibly small. Hallie weighed just 737 grams, while her little sister Faith weighed only 459 grams.

From the moment they were born, both girls have had to fight battles no baby should ever have to face.

Hallie has come an incredible distance. After months of respiratory support, feeding tubes, monitors, countless procedures and the constant ups and downs of being born so prematurely, she has finally progressed from intensive care into Special Care. She is learning to drink her bottles, continuing to grow stronger, and for the first time we can finally begin imagining the day when we carry one of our babies through the hospital doors and bring her home.

But bringing Hallie home will also begin a completely new and difficult chapter for our family.

Because Faith will still be fighting in the NICU.

Faith’s journey has been incredibly complicated. Born weighing less than half a kilogram, she has spent essentially her entire life relying on intensive medical care. She suffered a bowel perforation requiring surgery, has battled serious respiratory problems and infections, and has remained dependent on a ventilator for much of her life. She has experienced frightening emergencies, including accidental extubations and resuscitation, and continues to face complications including a significant PDA affecting her heart and lungs.

There have been moments when we have stood beside her bed absolutely terrified, watching machines breathe for our daughter and hoping that her tiny body could keep fighting.

And she has.

Again and again, Faith keeps fighting.

While Hallie is getting closer to home, we don’t yet know when Faith will be able to follow her. Her journey remains uncertain, and she still has significant hurdles ahead of her.

This creates another challenge that we are only beginning to understand.

When Hallie comes home, we will finally have one of our twins where she belongs—but every single day, her sister will still be in hospital.

We will need to balance caring for Hallie at home, looking after their big sister Ariah, maintaining our household and working when possible, while continuing to travel to the hospital every day so that Faith doesn’t go through this fight without her mum and dad beside her.

There will be no moment where we simply “leave the NICU behind” when Hallie is discharged.

Instead, our family will temporarily be divided between home and hospital.

The financial impact of nearly three months in the NICU has already been enormous. Time away from work, travelling to and from hospital, parking, fuel, meals and everyday household expenses continue regardless of what is happening inside the hospital walls. When Hallie comes home, those pressures won’t disappear—they will become even more complicated as we try to be present for both of our babies in two different places.

Asking for help isn’t something that comes easily to us.

But right now, what we want more than anything is the ability to spend this precious and frightening time focused on our children rather than constantly worrying about how we will keep everything financially afloat.

Any support received will help with our family’s everyday living expenses, transport and hospital-related costs, and help give us the flexibility to continue being there for Faith while also giving Hallie the care she will need when she finally comes home.

If you aren’t in a position to donate, sharing our story would mean just as much to us.

We are incredibly proud of both of our girls.

Hallie is fighting her way home.

Faith is fighting simply to get there.

And until the day we finally have all three of our girls together under the same roof, we will keep showing up for them every single day.

Thank you for helping us do that. ❤️