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HEALTHY HEAD START STORY: JAMES COMBS
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hen Alissa Sustarsic learned she was pregnant with twins, she never expected that they’d end up in a neo-natal intensive care unit. That’s what happened after her twin boys, Aiden and Carson, were born eight weeks early in 2006. The boys each weighed 4 pounds, 4 ounces and spent weeks hooked to ventilators
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and feeding tubes. “I didn’t even get to see Aiden after he was born because of his breathing issues,” said Alissa, who was 29 when she gave birth. “I never saw him until twoand-a-half hours after giving birth to him.” The boys were hospitalized at Shands Hopsital in Gainesville for four months. During that time, they suffered from minor brain bleeding and jaundice.
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The first two years of their lives were spent in and out of doctor’s offices to ensure they were developing appropriately. Both boys underwent occupational therapy, and Aiden underwent speech therapy, as well. Thinking back, Alissa says the March of Dimes program was instrumental in helping her cope through challenging times and emotional stress. “They gave me and my
husband, Jeff, pamphlets so we could understand all the medical terminology concerning premature babies,” says Alissa, a mathematics professor at Lake-Sumter State College. “They also gave me a camera so I could take pictures of the boys and gave Aiden and Carson a teddy bear while they were in an incubator. But the thing I appreciate most is that the program connected us to other parents who
