James McCann lacked fear. Not when he first learned he was expecting a child. Not after learning that Jessica, his wife, was indeed expecting twins. Not after learning that she need hospitalization six months into her pregnancy. Not two months before of her due date, when they found out Jessica was going to give birth, but two days later. And not in the seven weeks that followed in the NICU.
“We always felt that our boys’ birth story was just a continuation of the story and plan that God had created for us,” said McCann. “We were at peace through the whole thing.”
McCann and his family are familiar with children defying the odds. They are reminded of it every time they look at him. McCann’s mom found out she was pregnant with him months after her first pregnancy had ended in a stillbirth of their son, Timothy. The doctors warned them it could be a while until they got pregnant again, but it didn’t take them long. McCann’s due date was on the one-year anniversary of Timothy’s birth.
Thirteen weeks into McCann’s mom’s pregnancy with him, she developed a hole in her amniotic sac. The doctors gave McCann a one-in-four chance of surviving and told his parents it was all but guaranteed that he would be physically or mentally disabled. McCann’s parents told the doctors that they were going to take their chances and put their faith in God.
33 years later, McCann is about to celebrate his sixth Father’s Day. The dad of two happy, healthy twin boys, Christian Thomas and Kane Timothy.
“I vividly remember the room where they were born,” said McCann. “There were 12 to 15 doctors in there, there were two sets of teams for each baby. I remember holding them for the first time and having to give them up. They were born around 9:30 in the morning and we didn’t get to see them again until about 9:00 that night. I remember holding them and letting Jessica kiss them and then handing them off to the doctors and then they were gone.”
The McCann family spent a total of 51 days in the NICU. During those 51 days, they did a lot of dreaming and even more praying. McCann dreamt of the day his boys would come with him to the ball field, but most of his time was spent praying that his boys would leave the hospital without oxygen or feeding tubes, and that one day he would drive his family home.
On January 26, 2018, those prayers came true.
“The car seats are in the car, and I think we started to drive away, and my wife was sitting up front with me and we pulled out of the hospital, and I said, ‘Why are you sitting up here? You need to get back there with them,’” recalled McCann. “So we pulled over and she got back there with them. But that was probably the most nervous I’ve ever been driving. I followed all the laws of the road.”
The McCanns had about two weeks at home as a family of four before they took their second nerve-wracking drive. This time, it was to Spring Training. The usual nine-hour drive turned into about 15 hours, but it was worth it to have their family together. In a way, it seemed meant to be. They left for Spring Training on February 11, the boys’ original due date.
