During Their Worst, Others Gave Their Best

After nine weeks of pregnancy, Callista and her husband Ryan discovered they were expecting twins. Unfortunately, this extremely rare form of twins, called mono mono twins, indicated a high-risk pregnancy for Callista.

Ryan and Callista's Story

Ryan and Callista's daughters were delivered at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center at only 25 weeks and two days gestation. “Our girls were born incredibly, incredibly early,” says Callista, “and one of our daughters, Madison, actually passed away when she was nine days old.”

After such a heart-breaking loss, Callista explains that she and her husband were surrounded by a compassionate staff. “The staff at OSU was absolutely amazing. They took pretty much the most difficult moment of our entire lives and made it something really memorable and just really took care of us.” It was this compassion that compelled Callista and Ryan to give back.

Babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit cannot wear clothes until they are at least three pounds. Unable to dress their girls, the Dammanns put little bows on their daughters’ CPAP hats to “give them a touch of them," as Callista puts it.

Ryan emphasizes the pain that a family goes through at this difficult time. Even a small comfort is enough to make a big impact on a family going through a similar situation. “We want to make an impact on other families in any way that we possibly can,” Callista says.

The Dammanns donated 180 bows to Ohio State’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in memory of their daughter Madison, so that each of the little girls passing through the NICU could have their own bow on their CPAP hat and a little piece of Madison.

Your support will help Ohio State’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and other families like the Dammanns who are experiencing a difficult time in their lives.