KCSAS’s Community Christmas project will be held to raise money for two of the tinniest among us. Genevieve and Cade were born May 1, 2025. A normal pregnancy takes 40 weeks to produce a fully grown, healthy baby. Genevieve and Cade, twins, were born 24 weeks and 5 days! They had to be delivered by emergency C- Section. During the birth, they found Genevieve was turned wrong, and they would not be able to deliver, her or her brother. To this point, there had been no irregularities in Mom or the babies’ health or development. Mom delivered the babies in Petoskey at McLaren Hospital. The call went out for “All hands-on deck,” to save these babies. Doctors, nurses, respiratory specialists, from McLaren and from Munson in Traverse City rushed into action.

Genevieve came out first and was put in a tiny incubator.  She went from the womb to the incubator, to an ambulance then to Munson. Cade then followed in his own incubator and ambulance. Mom never had a chance to see or touch her babies. Mom, having had major surgery and delivering twins who were not ready to see the world yet was weak, shocked and exhausted. She and Dad would be unable to follow the babies until three days later. 

In the meantime, both grandmothers were given signed permission to be at Munson Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to watch over Genevieve and Cade. Genevieve weighed 1-pound 11 ounces and Cade weighed 1-pound 7ounces. These babies would need to remain under constant watch for four months in the Munson NICU. 

During that time, both babies faced many challenges because of their tiny, underdeveloped lungs and other organs. Genevieve developed a dangerous brain bleed. Cade developed a hernia. They both fought like warriors to survive.

Genevieve came home on September 14 after 137 days in the hospital. Cade followed her home five days later after 142 days in the hospital. The babies will face many developmental challenges in the coming years. 

KCSAS found out about these tiny warriors from their paternal grandparents, Shellie and Dan (Punk) DeLaRosa. The DeLaRosas have been huge supporters of KCSAS and the local community. You may know them from the Hide-A-Way Bar and Grill at Starvation Lake. Dan (Punk) is one of the owners. He and the other owners and staff put community first, supporting many programs that bring help where it is needed.

As our KCSAS Community Christmas Project 2025, we would like to give support to Genevieve and Cade so they can continue to thrive. The twins will be making numerous trips to Grand Rapids to the Helen DeVos Children’s hospital. They will also have to make daily trips to specialists, locally. 

We would like to assist with their travels or with any development assistance we can provide.  Assistance will be provided through specific gift cards for gas, food, or equipment. To give to Genevive and Cade here is the process to follow to ensure the money you give goes directly to the twins.