Losing one twin and raising the other with medical complexities: Danielle’s story | S3E39
Today's guest, Dr Danielle Madden spent an incredibly long nine months in NICU, followed by rehab and PICU before coming home with only one of her twin girls, Aleigha, as sadly, one month after the twins’ premature birth, Madelyn passed away. Now, Aleigha is 14 years old and whilst she faces challenges like hearing loss and other disabilities, she’s a happy teenager who likes making TikToks!
Danielle wanted to come onto the podcast to tell us and you all about her experience and everything she and her family went through, how they had to become advocates for Aleigha and what a return to work looked like for Danielle. As a family, they’ve been through so much but their strength is admirable and Danielle shares a lot of important advice that you’ll want to hear if you’re in NICU right now. This is a story of hope and strength years down the line from a NICU stay.
In this episode, we’re chatting about:
- Danielle’s NICU & PICU experiences and delivering her twins at 23 weeks and 5 days
- The loss of Madelyn
- How Danielle and her family adjusted to having a child with medical complexities at home
- Looking after yourself during your child’s NICU stay
- What going back to work looked like for Danielle
- What Aleigha’s life looks like now, years after NICU
Take what you need!
[00:52] Danielle’s story of delivering her twins prematurely and their time in NICU
[11:26] Losing Madelyn
[15:14] Advice for advocating for your child
[21:55] Going from NICU to PICU to home
[27:24] Adjusting to life with a child with medical complexities
[31:01] Managing the mental load and self-care
[39:43] Danielle’s return to work
[43:36] Aleigha’s life now
[46:32] One piece of advice for NICU parents
[48:54] Connect with Danielle
A huge thank you to Emma at Cover My Bubble for supporting our podcast - you can find out more about all that Cover My Bubble offer at www.covermybubble.co.uk
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Connect with our guest, Danielle:
Email Danielle at daniellemaddenconsulting@gmail.com