BOCA RATON — Casey Personti always knew she was destined to be a mom. What she didn't — what she couldn't — expect was that she would spend six weeks in the hospital during her pregnancy and births, praying that her twins would be OK.

The babies were monoamniotic, which means they developed in one amniotic sac with a single placenta. This caused their umbilical cords to knot up and wrap around each other — and the babies themselves.

Her doctor at West Boca Medical Center said it was a high-risk pregnancy, with a 15 to 25 percent chance that one or both of the babies would die.

“During the entire pregnancy, I kind of never let myself accept the fact that I was going to have one baby, let alone two,” said Casey, who lives in southern Palm Beach County.

But today, Casey Personti is home with her identical twin baby boys, Chase and Caden, who are healthy and happy. They are all together, and just in time for her first Mother’s Day as a mom.

“When I got home from the hospital, I started crying and I said to my mom, ‘I actually have babies!’ They’re here and they’re healthy.”

Her long, nervous stay at the hospital was made bearable thanks to her husband, Corbin, who brought her dinner every night and put family photos on the walls of her hospital room. He installed a birdhouse outside Casey’s window so she could watch hummingbirds and squirrels. It's a birdhouse that will stay outside the window for future patients to enjoy.

“Whenever I had a bad day, my husband made it better,” she said.

Casey and Corbin even got to celebrate their one-year anniversary, on March 26, at the hospital thanks to the birth-care team, which got the couple a cake for their special day. They even threw her a surprise baby shower.

“(The medical team) made such a huge difference. ... Every single person was so kind to me and my husband and it made it more possible to get through,” Casey said.

“Casey and Corbin were here for such a long time and they are such a sweet couple, so we thought it would be nice to surprise them,” said Jeanina Ganthier, a registered nurse at West Boca Medical Center. “We got everyone involved to help get the food, baby gifts and decorations. It was really touching.”

Knotted umbilical cords added risk to pregnancy

This was only the second set of monoamniotic twins that Dr. Barry Peskin delivered in his almost 40-year-long career.

“It was a very high-risk pregnancy because the umbilical cords were so knotted,” said Peskin, who himself is an identical twin. “It’s not common.”

In the 39 days Casey spent at the hospital, the birth care team carefully monitored her progress to find the right time to deliver the twins by cesarean section.

Chase and Caden were born at 10:30 a.m. April 14 when Casey was 32 weeks along, eight weeks earlier than the typical 40-week pregnancy period. They each weighed just over 4 pounds at birth.

The twins were on oxygen for one day and were given steroids to help their lungs mature and magnesium to protect their brains in the level 3 neonatal intensive care unit, where they stayed for three weeks.

During that time, Casey visited them twice a day for three to four hours at a time. The babies arrived home one day after the other on May 9 and 10.

“It’s really cool that I can have both of them home with me for Mother's Day,” Casey said.

“I feel like I've always known deep down that my purpose is to be a mom. Now that it’s here, it’s surreal.

"I feel solidified in my purpose in life.”