Scott and Tiffany Langer are proud parents to newborn twins, but their journey to parenthood wasn’t easy.
“We had experienced a loss with our first son Kellan and it was just a really traumatic experience,” Tiffany Langer told Sanford Health News.
In July 2019, Kellan Albert Langer was stillborn at 36 weeks.
“Throughout the year of grieving his loss and just trying to figure out how we were going to move forward, trying to start a family again, we really started to look at options,” Tiffany said.
Scott’s head coaching career with the North American Hockey League’s Aberdeen Wings moved the couple to South Dakota in 2016.
Tiffany is currently a business owner, sits on the Aberdeen City Council and documents her journey of loss in a blog, “Strength in Grief.”
They were not previously Sanford patients but knew if they wanted to grow their family again, they needed a change. That’s when Sanford Aberdeen OB/GYN Breanne Anderson-Mueller, M.D., came highly recommended.
The journey to rainbow twins
Having already experienced a loss with their son the year before, they were nervous about trying again.
“Before we even actually were pregnant, we both met with Dr. Anderson-Mueller and just had a conversation with her before we made the choice. Like, ‘is this the right move?’ And I think (Scott) texted me right after and said, ‘wow, that felt great’.”
Scott knew right away, his wife would be in good hands.
“We found out at five-and-a-half weeks because I was really, really anxious,” Tiffany explained. “I told them that we were going to be anxious early on.”
But an open line of doctor-patient communication is what really took their experience to the next level.
“The communication that we got right from the start going to Sanford was refreshing because after our loss, you’re just scared to go through it again,” Scott explained.
“(The Sanford care team) knew what we went through and every time we went to Sanford, they communicated with us through the entire process and they let us know what was going on so there was no guessing for us.”
Sanford Aberdeen ready with ‘dream team’ approach
Scott and Tiffany said the moment they stepped into the Sanford Aberdeen Clinic, they felt understood.
“I remember Tiffany coming to me, thinking about getting pregnant. That was a big choice for them,” Dr. Breanna Anderson-Mueller said. “Tiffany and Scott had a lot of trauma with the death of their first son, so I knew it was going to be a challenging pregnancy for everyone — but she was great.”
With twins on the way and a prior pregnancy loss, the Langer’s patient journey included support from the Sanford Maternal-Fetal Medicine team in Sioux Falls in addition to their team in Aberdeen.
In this case, it was Rachel Rodel, M.D., who specializes in high-risk pregnancy.
“Many women with multiple gestations visit a maternal-fetal medicine physician to have specialized ultrasounds and learn more about the extra care that may be needed during their pregnancy or at the time of delivery,” Dr. Rodel said.
Dr. Rodel and her team do outreach in rural Sanford communities and she visits Aberdeen once per month to bring patient care closer to home.
“It is really nice to be able to provide care to patients close to home. Given that care is often hours away, being present in their local clinic helps us work hand in hand with their primary team and helps our patients reduce time away from their work and family when traveling to appointments.”
For Scott and Tiffany, that convenience was the best part.
“Scott’s life is crazy, my life is crazy, and it was just so nice knowing that we were going to see (the maternal-fetal medicine team) every month.”
With the lingering anxiety of giving birth again, she told Dr. Anderson-Mueller and Dr. Rodel she wanted to have the twins in Sioux Falls and Sioux Falls was ready for her.
On March 12, 2021, they welcomed Kasen and Vivian Langer at Sanford USD Medical Center.
“The team watched me so carefully and knew the experience was going to be different and they wanted to make sure that anything they can catch they were going to catch and they did.”
‘Luckiest people in the world’
Scott and Tiffany say their late son, Kellan, is still very much a part of their everyday lives.
“I feel like he had such a hand in this pregnancy because not only do we get to make this world a better place, but we get to have these two and and do incredible things with them as well and that’s just the best feeling ever,” Tiffany said.
They are forever grateful for the personalized and compassionate pregnancy care they received from the start.
“You can put your lives in Sanford’s hands,” Scott said. “Sanford will always be our hospital.”
Choose Sanford Health for expert providers who are here for you before, during and after childbirth.
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Posted In Aberdeen, Pregnancy, Sioux Falls, Women's
