From left: Joaquin and Gabrielle Spada holding their twins with big brothers, Max (2) and Zeke (4); Grandma, Barbara Schumann with daughter Lindsey Zolna and twins; Richard Michner, M.D., Obstetrician and Attending Physician; Elizabeth Melli with Grandma, Deborah Cimini and twins; and Kimberly and Jessie Hogge and twins.

COURT HOUSE – Having four families within a 20-day period deliver twins at Cape Regional Medical Center is an unusual, but very exciting experience. Those four very special families recently returned to the Medical Center to share the joy and thrill of their births and the care they experienced at Cape Regional Medical Center.

MELLI TWINS – Aug. 30
On Saturday, Aug.30, Elizabeth Melli went into labor and arrived at Cape Regional Medical Center. Although that doesn’t seem like anything unusual, her babies were not due for another three months.

The Melli’s arrived at 7 a.m. and an emergency cesarean section was performed by Dr. Richard Michner. By 8:10 a.m. Shaylynn Maria (pronounced Mariah) and Brogan Anthony were born. Immediately, pediatricians Dr. Tom Dierkes and Dr. William Freund, began their work to stabilize the babies and make transfer arrangements to the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital.

“At 7 o’clock when I arrived at the hospital having contractions, I was scared because I knew the twins were coming sooner than I wanted,” commented Elizabeth Melli. “Shaylynn came home a few weeks later and Brogan was just discharged on Friday, October 31st. Both babies are doing really well,” Elizabeth continued.

SPADA TWINS – Sept. 3
On Wednesday, Sept.3, four days later, Gabrielle Spada and her husband Joaquin, arrived at Cape Regional Medical Center in labor with their twins. Again the Maternal and Newborn Care team worked hard to make the birth of the babies as smooth as possible.

“I felt truly blessed throughout the whole experience. I was nervous about all the extra concerns of having twins, but everyone at Cape Regional Medical Center was great,” stated Gabrielle Spada.

“God truly answered all my prayers, I was able to go almost full term, and the doctors monitored me closely allowing me to deliver both babies without any surgery or stitches. Selah Gabriella was born weighing 6 lbs. 7 oz. and Catalina Annamaria weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz., perfectly healthy!” The Spada’s are the owners of Santo’s Pizza in the Superfresh Shopping Center in Court House.

ZOLNA TWINS – Sept. 5
On Thursday, Sept. 4, as the Spada family was getting acquainted with their two new babies, Lindsey and Jim Zolna were preparing for a routine stress test in the Maternal and Newborn Care Center at Cape Regional Medical Center. After the test, her attending obstetrician, Dr. Richard Michner informed her she was being admitted and that her identical twins would be delivered by cesarean section the next morning.

On Friday, Sept. 5, Anthony Daniel was born at 7:50 a.m. weighing in at 5 lbs. 7 oz. and Zachary Robert arrived two minutes later at 7:52 a.m. weighing 5 lbs. 14 oz. “I’d really like to commend the physicians and nursing staff at Cape Regional Medical Center for the excellent care they provided both my children and me during our stay,” stated Lindsey Zolna. “All the nurses were supportive, patient, and more than willing to help my husband and me with anything we needed. Dr. Michner was also amazingly supportive throughout my twin’s pregnancy. We honestly could not have survived it without him,” she concluded.

HOGGE TWINS – Sept. 18
Jessie and Kimberly Hogge are stationed at the Coast Guard Base in Cape May, far away from their hometown of Lancaster, Virginia.

Their twins were delivered by scheduled cesarean section on Thursday, Sept. 18; Ashton Keith arrived first at 7:53 a.m. weighing 4 lbs. 5 oz. and Alivia Elizabeth followed quickly at 7:54 a.m. weighing 5 lbs. 6 oz. Once again, Dr. Richard Michner was the attending obstetrician and the pediatricians of Rainbow Pediatrics were on hand to care for the newborns.

“The care received at Cape Regional Medical Center during my stay after the birth of the twins was wonderful. The nursing staff took very good care of me and my babies. They always made sure I was comfortable and were very helpful when I had questions,” stated Kim Hogge.

“Dr. Michner is a wonderful doctor. The fact that he had twins of his own made me feel more comfortable knowing that ‘he had been there and done that.’ He and Dr. Joseph Milio took good care of me during my pregnancy and were very informative and nurturing during my c-section and during my care while at the Medical Center. Rainbow Pediatrics sent two pediatricians for the birth and aftercare of the twins. Everyone was very helpful in answering questions during the c-section and while the three of us were in the hospital. I would recommend this hospital for maternal care to all my fellow “coastie” wives stationed at the Coast Guard Base in Cape May,” Kim concluded.

“We are so excited to have such a positive story to share with the community about the birth of these four sets of twins,” commented Richard Michner, M.D., Obstetrician.

“With the discharge of Brogan Melli on Halloween, we invited all the families to come to the Medical Center for a group photograph and to tell their story of the birth of their twins.

It was a fun morning seeing the moms, dads, siblings, grandparents and of course, the babies. I would like to personally thank my colleagues Dr. Joseph Milio, Dr. Tom Dierkes, Dr. William Freund, and the great staff in the Maternal and Newborn Care Center at Cape Regional Medical Center for their expertise and compassionate care of these families.

These individuals are an exceptional team who provided exceptional quality care for these high risk pregnancies,” Michner continued.