When Meghan Danford-Komenda first saw her adopted newborn twins in the hospital, they were so frail they had to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit for a week.

Three and a half years later, her “miracle babies” are hale and healthy. As gratitude for the doctors who kept McKenna and Madelynn alive, Danford-Komenda has been involved in the March of Dimes.

This year, her family was chosen as the featured family for the March of Dimes and led a walk into Lawrence Park in April.

The March of Dimes was founded by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1938 to help combat childhood polio. When that disease was all but eradicated, the organization moved on to other diseases affecting babies.

“They concentrate on healthy, full-term pregnancies,” Danford-Komenda said. “And on less infant mortality, less premature birth. I got involved with the march because of my two miracle little girls.”

While twins are often born early and underweight, McKenna and Madelynn had other issues. They suffered from something called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. Essentially, McKenna was “donating” blood to her twin. 

This led to one baby with too much blood and another with too little. Both were barely alive when they were born. 

Now, the girls are tall, in the 98th percentile for weight and at every level they should be developmentally. They marched with their mom during the April 19 March of Dimes event. Danford-Komenda’s team, the Mini Miracle Marchers, raised $1,700. More than 30 other teams participated in the event, but the “miracle” twins led the way.

“The girls had a lot of fun, it was the first year they walked with me,” she said. “The Easter bunny was there and Kiwanis always puts out a great meal.”

Two other teammates, Kailey Thomas and Annalise Wilson, completed the Mini Miracle Marchers’ roster.

While Danford-Komenda and her husband, Montana, are in love with their twins, they admit it wasn’t always so easy. The two had prepared to adopt a single child when they received the news they had been accepted as the new parents of twins.

“We had the nursery set up for one,” she said. “When we got the notice we had six weeks to prepare for twins.”

This problem was worsened when the girls were born prematurely, too young to even have their suck, swallow and breathe reflex. The neonatal intensive care unit had the girls on oxygen for a week until Danford-Komenda could take them home.

Being selected as the featured family for March of Dimes was an honor, she said. After watching her new babies in the hospital for a week, the fact her family was happy and healthy several years later was a relief.

“It was terrifying,” Danford-Komenda said of her time staying at Kalispell Regional Medical Center with her girls. “You want to help but you can’t do anything. I spent every minute talking to them, letting them know I was there for them.”

Before the actual march, where Meghan and her girls led the procession through some paths in Kalispell’s Lawrence Park, she got to speak about her journey.

To help children like McKenna and Madelynn, Danford-Komenda said donations to the March of Dimes are welcome year-round. Donations can be given at www.marchofdimes.com or www.marchforbabies.org.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.