Support premature twins in the NICU affected by a house fire

Sitting down to write this note in our neighbor’s house, my tears keep falling. It truly has been an unforgettable day. As I write this

now, our beloved home has turned to ashes. This house was the result of years of hard work and saving in America, filled with countless memories… and now, it's all gone.Recently, I had just given birth to two adorable twin boys, Justin and Jacob, only 10 days ago. After three days of recovery in the hospital following a C-section, our whole family was finally able to return home. The nursery had been tidied up and was filled with new clothes, bottles, diapers, and breast pumps, all generously gifted by friends, clients and family… but now, it’s all gone in the blink of an eye. Just one day after returning home, the babies were too weak and had to be rushed back to the NICU the very next day. On top of that, I began feeling unwell and had to call 911 twice over the last few days and stayed in the emergency room. Yesterday, I and one baby were finally discharged and returned home, while the other baby remains in the hospital. He’s not getting enough breast milk, so I have been doing everything I can to pump enough to bring to the hospital.Today, I finished working and consulting with clients at 9 PM. Still working hard to make sure my babies have a good life. I then remembered it was time to pump milk for baby Jacob at home. While my husband was warming up milk and feeding the baby, I was pumping more milk to bring to the hospital. Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard behind the house. My husband ran to check, seeing smoke billowing into the house. I rushed to the door but couldn’t see my husband. I cried so bad. The fire had already spread into the house. I immediately called 911 and shouted for my mom, who was sleeping downstairs, to escape. At that moment, my husband emerged from the smoke, carrying our baby boy out of the house. Thankfully, all four of us managed to escape safely.About 10 minutes later, around 15 fire trucks arrived, but by then, the fire had already consumed the living room and other rooms. All the gifts for me and the babies—car seats, stroller, work equipment, computers, and many of our belongings—were completely destroyed. To this moment, the exact cause of the fire remains unknown.Watching the house burn down before my eyes, I couldn’t hold back my tears. Neighbors rushed over to offer support and comfort. Some brought shoes, jackets, diapers, and milk for the baby. Four families on the neighborhood even offered us a place to stay for the night, which brought a bit of comfort during this heartbreaking time.Since the baby’s car seat burned in the fire, we couldn’t drive anywhere, so we stayed with our neighbors, a retired UW professor couple. Now, my husband, my mother, our two babies, and I have nothing left except the clothes on our backs and our car. All our documents were lost in the fire. It’s especially hard seeing our newborn baby, just 10 days old, hungry and needing milk. The neighbors bought formula and diapers, but they forgot to get bottles.Thankfully, my real estate clients, Đoài and Lanny, heard about the situation and immediately brought over baby formula and clothes at mid night. Words cannot express how grateful I am. One of my husband’s coworkers also drove to our house and stayed with us for a long time. At this moment, I don’t know where we’ll stay or go in the coming days, as we have nothing left. If anyone has anything that could help our family during this difficult time, I would be deeply grateful. The babies’ belongings like bottles, clothes, toys, and stroller are all gone.

Right now, we truly don’t know where to begin. If you’d like to support or assist our family in any way, we would appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you so much.❤️

FROM Alice Van Nguyen's Facebook Post