The stress was mounting. So, too, were the bills.
Beth and Ralph Peters of Prince Edward Island were consumed with concern over the fate of their unborn twin boys.
A series of ultrasounds confirmed the unborn babies had twin to twin transfusion syndrome - a disease of the placenta that results in one twin receiving too much blood, and the other not enough.
Many complications can result from the disease, such as growth restriction, heart complications or even death of one or both of the twins while in-utero.
Once a week for nine weeks, the Peters had to travel the 640-km round trip from their Park Corner home to the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, N.S.
With Beth on sick leave from her job and Ralph having to take unpaid leave from work to trek the couple’s daughters Hannah and Abby back and forth to the IWK, money was tight.
Add to the fiscal equation the cost of travel - bridge tolls, fuel, food, and accommodations - and the financial pinch was squeezing ever tighter.
“You have less money coming in and a lot more money going out,’’ noted Beth.
So any bit of help would be welcome. Assistance like Irving Oil’s Fuel the Care program.
The Peters tapped into the program receiving several fuel cards. The program saved the couple hundreds of dollars in fuel cost — close to $1,000 in total.
“Fuel the Care meant so much to us during the time we needed to travel,’’ said Beth.
“We lived in daily fear that we would lose our sons before they were born. You can’t believe the relief we felt when we heard there was a program out there that could help us with these expenses.’’
Twins Sam and Jake, now 14 months old, are completely out of the woods today.
“They are great...they are really good now,’’ said Beth.
Beth still marvels at the generosity - and the impact - of the program that is marking its 10th anniversary.
Fuel the Care has provided fuel gift cards to more than 35,000 families with children who require medical care throughout Atlantic Canada and New England.
The program is administered to families in P.E.I. through social workers at the IWK Health Centre. In addition to providing families with more than $2 million in fuel gift cards, Fuel the Care has also provided $350,000 in funding for research into childhood diseases.
“I think it’s absolutely amazing,’’ said Beth.
“They (Irving) have touched so many lives.’’
