What began as a simple hospital visit during Halley Griggs’s pregnancy soon became a roller coaster of emotions and emergency procedures, but with help from NewYork-Presbyterian and their own relentless optimism, the Griggs family and their daughter Charley were able to return to their Connecticut community healthy and ready to thrive.
Halley Griggs found out she was pregnant right before Christmas 2024—delightful news to gift the season with. “The news of identical twin girls came weeks later, just into the new year,” Halley recounts. “It was a ‘normal’ pregnancy from there on out. I’d hold my breath heading into appointments, as we’ve experienced the heartbreak of loss before, but each one would bring relief as the girls passed every test with flying colors,” she continues. “We could start envisioning what they would look like. We shared the news with their big sister, Dempsey. She was ecstatic.” For months, the pregnancy progressed without issue, as the family dutifully preparing for the year ahead. Then, in April, a routine hospital visit marked an unanticipated turn.
“Our anatomy scan in April brought news that they were measuring slightly ‘off’ of one another, but we were told it was likely nothing to be concerned over,” Halley reveals. “It was around that time that the weight gain came, too. My feet and ankles began to swell to extreme degrees. I’d never had that before when I was pregnant with my eldest.” As spring continued, so did the health concerns. “I went in for my fetal echo on May 2. The twins were continuing to measure at such disproportions due to what my doctor believed was possibly an early case of TTTS.” TTTS, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, is a condition where the blood flows unequally between twins that share a placenta, forcing one twin to donate blood to the other and creating a situation where neither is receiving the support they truly need.
“Unexpected is an understatement,” Brian, the father, admits. “It was a frightening stretch of uncertainty, but we were grateful to get in the very next day with a leading specialist at Columbia — hopeful he might give us clearer answers.” The next morning, Halley and Brian met with Russell Miller, MD, at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center, who would further explain what was happening. “Dr. Miller identified that our girls had TAPS [twin anemia polycythemia sequence]. In that moment, our dream of two little girls dissolved. We found out that ‘Twin B’ was critically ill, and we found ourselves living in the space between goodbye and hope — grieving one daughter while praying with everything we had that the other would survive.”
Halley began her stay at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital amid a sea of uncertainty, grief, and hope—unclear of the way forward but determined to undertake what was best for her and her family. “I was admitted for ongoing monitoring due to the severity of my preeclampsia, with the goal of prolonging the pregnancy safely. However, my condition continued to worsen. Less than a week later, while sitting with Dr. Miller and reviewing bloodwork that wasn’t improving, I suddenly began to experience changes in my vision. I was rushed into surgery and delivered our daughter, Charlotte Grace, via c-section on May 8 at just 23 weeks.” Charlotte, affectionately known as Charley, would go on to spend 196 days in the NICU, with Brian and Halley doing whatever they could to stay by her side as much as possible. “Throughout her journey there, we tried to remain anchored in gratitude every day,” Halley recalls. “We tried to remain as hopeful and optimistic as possible.”
As Halley and Brian tended to Charley as much as they could, their community rallied to support them. Family members shifted their lives around to care for Dempsey, and friends supplied groceries and meals. “Our mission became simple: How do we get Charley home?” Brian says. “Everything else fell away. We focused on what we could control and took it one step at a time.” Halley elaborates, “Our community was everything to us. We had family drop everything and move in and, for nearly 200 days, meals showed up at our doorstep without us ever having to ask. I can say with complete certainty that we would not have made it through that time without the love and support of the people around us.”
The Griggs family also found comfort in the unit’s amazing doctors, nurses, and other staff; these care professionals provided invaluable clinical insight and emotional support for Halley and Brian, ensuring that they remained constantly and consistently informed throughout Charley’s stay. Halley explains, “We developed incredibly close relationships with her NICU team. Their care and compassion carried us through our hardest days. It was unbearable leaving her there night after night, but we found peace in knowing she was exactly where she needed to be.” Brian adds, “We found comfort in knowing Charley was in the hands of a team we trusted completely. They knew her, and they knew us.”
Charley underwent a variety of procedures during her stay, battling infections as her health progressed under the watchful eyes of her parents. With help from the Child Life Services program, Dempsey was able to visit and meet Charley for the first time in late July. Halley notes, “Ever since the day she met Charley, Dempsey has wanted more — most of all, in that moment, she wanted her little sister home.” She continues, “And there was never a moment we stopped believing in her ability to come home. That belief was tested, of course — there were days that felt impossibly heavy. But her nurses and providers believed in her just as deeply. They saw her resilience before we could even begin to understand it. Their faith in her helped sustain ours.” After nearly seven months in the hospital, Charley was finally well enough to go home.
Forever changed by their experience, Halley and Brian knew that giving back would be an integral part of their story. “Our time in the NICU exposed us to a reality we had never known,” Brian says. “We saw how hard and emotional that journey is for so many families. It made us certain that we wanted to give back one day — to help families facing a similar circumstance and recognize the people who care for their children.” The care received and observed by the Griggs family profoundly inspired them. “What stayed with me most was the tenderness. These nurses and providers didn’t just treat patients — they nurtured them. They showed up for babies whose parents couldn’t always be there and made sure they were held, comforted, and cared for in every sense of the word. Our NICU journey exposed us to the heroism of its caregivers,” Halley says.
The Griggs family now approaches every day with immense gratitude. Brian notes, “We’re just grateful for everything. There were times in the NICU where it was very hard to see what our life would be like a year from then, but today Charley is thriving at home, with her big sister Dempsey. It’s a gift every day to see them interact.” Halley concurs. “The best part of our day is seeing our girls together,” she says. The teams at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital also remain a constant influence. Halley says, “The bond we formed with her nurses and providers didn’t end when we left. We call them ‘Charley’s Angels’ — the people who stood beside her and helped carry her through her most fragile days. They remain part of her story, still cheering her on from afar.” Deeply transformed by their relationship with NewYork-Presbyterian, the Griggs family is committed to honoring Eleanor, “Nell,” Charley’s twin, and empowering meaningful care however they can.
