Race for Our Kids 2019-Meet Amaris and Jacob Maria

Two-year-old twins Amaris and Jacob Maria are like yin and yang.

Jacob is calm and easy-going; Amaris is spirited and likes to mix things up. Jacob is adventurous; Amaris is cautious. Amaris is fiercely independent; Jacob likes to do whatever his sister is doing.

Despite their different personalities, these Sinai Super Stars both love to learn, play and explore the world together. And one thing's certain: they are - and always have been - full of surprises.

Surprises like when Aurora Maria was 28-weeks pregnant with Jacob and Amaris and her water broke prematurely. Aurora arrived at the hospital not expecting to go into labor until the babies were closer to term. But Dr. Aimee Jacobs and the obstetrics team would deliver the twins by emergency C-section at 3 a.m. the next morning, and they were then placed in the care of neonatologist Dr. Julia Trintis. Aurora and her husband, Joseph, are forever grateful to Drs. Jacobs and Trintis for easing their nerves during a scary and uncertain labor and delivery. Both doctors also were there to support them during Jacob and Amaris' three-month NICU stay.

The twins were placed in incubators after they were born. Aurora couldn't even hold Jacob for the first time until three days later. For the first three weeks, Jacob was stronger than his sister. But when he contracted bacterial meningitis, his health took a scary turn. During a weekly ultrasound, doctors found intraventricular bleeding in his brain that was causing increased pressure inside his head. He underwent surgery to have a ventriculoperitoneal shunt placed in the brain. (The shunt relieves pressure on Jacob's brain so that doctors can treat his hydrocephalus.) In the two years since that procedure, Jacob has undergone three brain surgeries.

Jacob visits Sinai twice each year for routine checkups and has physical therapy and occupational therapy three times per week, where he learns motor-related skills like walking, core strengthening and eating. His sister, Amaris, is always by his side to show him the way.

Amaris went home from the NICU one week before her brother. Today, she is achieving milestones above her developmental age without any serious health problems. Aurora and Joseph say they are eternally grateful to the NICU care team of nurses and providers who nurtured and cared for their babies during their stay in the NICU.

Jacob and Amaris love going to the playground and being outdoors. Jacob loves to follow his sister as she lets her curiosity get her into trouble. Together, they're a perfectly balanced tandem that always keeps their parents wondering what's next.

Support Amaris and Jacob at the 15th annual Race for Our Kids on Sunday, Oct. 6.