Dominic Stephen Joseph

Dominic was a mystery to us before he was even born. He was “twin B”, a surprise on our ultrasound, hidden up high not likely where they thought he would be. Every ultrasound thereafter he stayed tucked behind his sister, “twin A”, difficult to get a picture of, hard to count movements on, and all around mysterious. On October 25, at 38 weeks gestation, the twins were born at 4lb 2oz for Nic, and 6lb 10oz for his sister Mia! Dominic had to stay in the NICU for 3 weeks, while his sister was able to come home. From the beginning he grew much slower than his twin sister. Both in utero and out. That isn’t something we really had an explanation for, other than he “digested slower” than the average infant. Having a 19-month-old big brother, and a twin sister made home life very busy. But we had frequent visits from OT and PT, through early intervention, to keep Dominic on track.

Some of our best memories of him are swinging on the swings at the park with his big brother and sister. He loved movement, lights and colors. He had a complicated relationship with being touched, as we were working with his therapists through sensory issues. But even still we had some special moments of calm and peace when the house was quiet, and he could really relax. His favorite thing to eat was PediaSure Vanilla Shakes. Every year on his anniversary date we make sure to get a vanilla milkshake in his honor.

Our family never expected this turn of events. As a matter of fact, when he passed away at 14 months old, he had finally had a solid food meal the day before and we thought he had officially “turned a corner”. Sometimes it seems having no answers is the worst answer of all. But we are thankful for research and resources to better understand and hopefully help others in the process.