BY PIPER CASTILLO

Times Staff Writer

SAFETY HARBOR — Taylor Griffin knows the story by heart. It was Thanksgiving morning, 1993. Her mother, Kelly Griffin, had learned one week earlier she was having twin girls. She was six months pregnant.

"She started having pain and went into the hospital in the morning. She had an emergency Caesarean section,'' said Griffin, 24. "Mom always has said one of the reasons we made it was because of the nurses.''

On that day, several of the staff at Mease Dunedin Hospital gave up their turkey dinners since they were on call. They filed in as swiftly as possible for the surgery.

First came Taylor, weighing in at 1 pound, 15 ounces.

Next came Taryn, at 1 pound, 12 ounces.

Kelly Griffin described the delivery simply as "fast and scary.''

"I was told the babies had a 50-50 chance of survival. They were so little, and then I had to go home without them while they stayed there for three months,'' she said. "I really depended on the nurses in the (neonatal unit).''

According to Taylor, the harrowing birth story was never lost on either her or her sister. The twins, graduates of East Lake High, both have chosen careers as health care professionals. Taryn, a graduate of Keiser University, is an occupational therapist. Taylor is currently completing the nursing program through St. Petersburg College and plans to continue her studies to specialize in neonatal nursing.

"I definitely see the impact the nurses made on our lives,'' she said.

But the story doesn't end with the twins' career choices.

A few weeks ago, Taylor was in a clinical training class at Mease Countryside Hospital. After working with the babies in the morning, the charge nurse on duty, Angie Margetto, began a conversation.

"I was sitting at the nurses station, and Angie asked me if I would consider being a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) nurse,'' Taylor said. "I said I would consider it because I was like the baby we had been working with that morning who was 26 weeks old. I told her I was born at Mease Dunedin.

"Angie said she had worked there and asked what my mom's name was. I told her, and she said, 'Wait, you were born on Thanksgiving, right? I remember you. I got a call that day and came in for the delivery. We nicknamed you the turkey twins,' " Taylor said.

"When I told my mother that I met Angie, she freaked out and ran and got a picture of her,'' she said.

Kelly knew right away who her daughter had met.

"I told her it was the nurse I had talked about all these years,'' she said. "I remember telling Angie how scared I was, and she told me everything was going to be fine, and that she and the other nurses would take care of my babies, and they did.''

Recently Taylor, who is planning to start a job at Mease Countryside this summer as a patient care technician, paid another visit to Margetto. They again retold the story, but this time, Margetto stressed that in the last several years, many things have changed.

"Premies get held a lot sooner these days. We do what we call kangaroo care. They lay skin to skin with momma or daddy,'' she said. "At least by 7 days old, they are getting held. Back when Taylor was born, it would be a month before her momma could hold them. That is hard on the momma.''

The women, both in scrubs, smiled at each other, shaking their heads.

"Mom always talked about how important the nurses were, and here we are,'' said Taylor. "It's a small world.''

"Yes, it is,'' Margetto said with a laugh. "Yes, it is.''

Contact Piper Castillo at pcastillo@tampabay.com. Follow @Florida_PBJC.