The following letter is from the parents of Carson Walker Pierce, the infant who died at Providence St. Vincent Hospital after getting exposed to staph bacteria.

This is most of the story that we told at Carson's funeral. With all the generous support from our friends and family we are having a BBQ to give thanks for everything they have done for us and our boys.

On Feb 19th we found out we were having twins. We were shocked but definitely more excited. Later in the pregnancy we found out our babies were identical boys (exactly what we wanted), but they also had some complications with how they were growing (not what we wanted). They had what was called Twin-Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). Meaning one baby is getting all the blood and nutrients, while the other baby is getting hardly anything.

After a couple of thorough ultrasounds the doctor said we needed to get surgery to laser apart the connecting arteries to correct the direction of blood flow for the babies. So off to Seattle we went. The surgery was scheduled for Wednesday May, 9th but before we could get that surgery they had to tie Megan's cervix to prevent early labor.

That surgery was on May 8th. Everything went well and the babies were doing great. Later that night Megan's water broke and we got moved downstairs to a delivery room. For the next 2 days she was in labor. She was only 23 weeks along and at that point they had no chance of saving the babies. We needed to make it to at least 24 weeks so that we could get steroids to help develop the babies lungs.

Everyday was a blessing and one step closer to survival for our baby boys. We ended up being put on bed rest for 2 1/2 weeks at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, WA. After that on May 25th we were able to get an ambulance ride to transfer us to St. Vincent Medical Center which was closer to home. Megan was exactly 25 weeks along.

On May 30th she started having some sharp pains which continued into the next day. On June 1st the pain was so intense and so close together that the doctors decided to check her, she was dilated to a 7! Megan's Mother called Josh and told him that he needed to get up there. Josh got there and a couple of hours later we were getting wheeled to the delivery room. Probably 10 minutes later we had Mica, he was the recipient baby and the larger of the two. Two minutes later we had Carson, who was the donor baby and the smaller one. They were both bright colors and were carried away into the NICU.

From that moment on we were both proud parents of twin boys. A nurse came in and said that Mica was born at 9:23pm and weighed 2lbs 1oz and Carson was born at 9:25pm and weighed 1lb 8oz. Later that night we went to the NICU together and saw our boys hooked up to all kinds of different machines, but doing great. We were told that Carson needed CPR after being brought into the NICU but was fine afterwards.

A few days later we found out that Carson had a heart murmur and needed to get surgery. It was a very common surgery in preemie babies, it took about a half an hour and everything went great. We visited our boys everyday and before we left we would always tell them how strong they were and how proud we were of them.

We changed their diapers, took their temperatures, and held their hands as much as possible. Carson loved having his hands held, he would always squeeze your finger with all his might. We got to hear his little cry and see him open his eyes to look around. We each got to pick him up once and move him from the scale back to his bed.

On June 13th we got a call from the doctor he said that things weren't looking good and we needed to get over there. We walked through the NICU doors as the doctor was walking toward us, he said "I'm sorry" and right then we knew Carson was gone. They didn't know how it happened but they said that he went quickly and wasn't in pain.

Later that day we found out that it was possibly an infection. The doctor asked to do an autopsy to find out for sure what caused this to happen so fast.

In labor at 23 weeks Josh and I had made the decision that if they didn't make it, we would donate their bodies to science to help other babies. So we decided to let them do an autopsy which led to the discovery of a staph infection.

After that they tested all the babies in the NICU and found that there were 12 other babies that carried the staph germ on their skin or in their nose but were NOT yet infected.

The NICU began immediate treatment to prevent any infection from happening. With Carson's death he may have saved the lives of those other babies. We can't begin to express how proud we are of Carson for fighting and hanging on as long as he did. We were blessed to even have him in our lives.

We will miss him but we know that he is watching over his brother and helping him through his rough times. Mica is doing progressively better everyday because of his angel.

Carson has touched the lives of our family and friends and that has pulled us together as a big unit. Our friends and family have raised money to help with medical expenses and have been there for support through it all, for that we want to thank them.

We love and miss you Carson

Mom and Dad.