Triplet parents give back to neonatal intensive care unit

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After spending nearly a month with their triplets in the Moncton Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, Rachel and Denis Comeau created an organization that has raised more than $65,000 to improve the experience for other families.

In March 2020, Rachel Comeau delivered her three children just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Because the triplets were born prematurely, they were sent to the NNICU. The pandemic made an already difficult time all the more isolating because the new parents couldn’t be with family, but she said the staff at the hospital became like family.

As a thank you for staff, the couple launched the Tiny Dreams Campaign to raise money for Beads of Courage, a program that creates a necklace for children who stay in the unit with beads that represent each treatment they had.

“It ended up being a really big success,” said Comeau. “We were aiming for about $5,000 and ended up raising $7,000.”

Wanting to do more, they talked with staff in the unit asking what else was needed. They were told to think about their own experience in the NNICU and how it could have been improved.

“For us it was that our family members couldn’t come see our kids in the hospital when it went on lockdown,” she said.

“So we spent the next two years raising $50,000 to be able to bring medical grade cameras into the incubators.”

She said the cameras not only allow family members who are not present in the hospital to visit with newborns but also mean new parents can check on their child 24/7.

“Moms and Dads that need to leave to go take a shower and want to see their baby can still see them when they are away and not have that guilt about leaving the hospital to grab lunch or do something,” said Comeau.

This year, the Tiny Dreams Campaign set out to raise $6,000 to purchase a medical grade chair that would be comfortable for parents taking part in skin-to-skin contact with their child. Comeau said that time spent with a baby improves their wellbeing and parents of children born premature are asked to do skin-to-skin for two or three hours each day.

“Having been in the NNICU in 2020, I think they had maybe one or two chairs that I would say were actually comfortable to sit in for long periods of time because they are so dated,” she said.

“The Tiny Dreams campaign is always based on improving family supports.”

As of Thursday, the campaign has reached nearly double its goal. Comeau said if another $690 is raised they will have enough to purchase two chairs.

Since 2020, the Tiny Dreams Campaign’s team has grown to include health care workers and others with NNICU experiences.

Along with the Comeaus, the team includes Rachel Savoie, Josée Cormier, Manon Belliveau and Veronique Fontaine.

Greg King, president and CEO of The Friends of The Moncton Hospital Foundation, said they are very fortunate to have families like Rachel and Denis launch something that gives back.

“Motivated and inspired by their personal experience in the NNICU – Tiny Dreams is a wonderful example of how fundraising can impact future patients and families,” said King.

It’s been nearly four years since Comeau brought her children home. She said they are active and healthy.

In those four years, she said the hospital has shared stories with the family from other NNICU parents who have benefited from the Tiny Dreams Campaign.

Comeau said with the NNICU seeing about 100 families each year, they’ve been able to touch the lives of about 400 families since their launch.

“That’s what keeps us going,” she said.