Halliday triplets raising money to say thanks to NICU staff that saved their lives

KILLDEER, N.D. - The Schaper family has a couple of lucky numbers: three and 10.

In 2010, Melanie Schaper of Halliday gave birth to three babies.

The triplets were born three months early and spent 10 weeks in the NICU.

Now, they’re 10 years old, and wanted to do something to thank the nurses who took such good care of them, 10 years ago.

November is Prematurity Awareness Month, so, the three siblings decided it is the perfect time to give back.

The Schaper triplets and their little sister have been busy baking and delivering chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin cheesecakes.

“I like the taste testing part,” said 10-year-old Matthew Schaper.

They’re selling baked goods to raise money for a place that’s pretty special to them.

“We were born three months early and spent 10 weeks in the NICU,” explained 10-year-old Emelie Schaper.

They were tiny little babies. Sarah weighed just one pound when she was born. Emelie was 2 pounds. Matthew was the biggest, at 2 pounds, 3 ounces. Emelie is quick to point out though, she is the oldest.

“I am one minute older than her and two minutes older than him,” she said.

Now that they’re10, they wanted to give back.

“Since we were born early, and they did a lot to save us we thought we should give back because they did a lot,” said 10-year-old Sarah Schaper.

“I know they did a lot of hard work to keep us alive,” added Emelie.

Now, the triplets are the ones working hard and making deliveries of their own.

“It makes me feel good,” said Matthew.

They’ll donate all the money they raise to the Bismarck Sanford NICU.

“We wanted to give back,” said Emelie.

A sweet way they can say thank you to the people the triplets say saved their lives.

The Schapers are happy to deliver baked goods to Killdeer, Halliday and Dickinson. You can contact their mom, Melanie on Facebook for more details.

Or if you’d just like to contribute money to their efforts, checks can be made out to Melanie Schaper and mailed to PO Box 113, Halliday, ND 58636.

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