Cassandra D ~ Super Hero Alias: Skunkalicious

Age: 11 months old
Weight at birth: 1 lb 14 oz
Weeks gestation: 25 weeks
Time in the NICU: 94 days

Diagnosis, surgeries, complications?

Chronic Lung Disease
Bronchopulmonary Disease
10 Blood Transfusions
Pneumonia when a week old due to pic lines in chest. A surgeon had to get the lines in properly.
She had to be revived twice in one day when the pneumonia was at its worst.

Why Should Your Children Be Recognized as Preemies of the Year?

Cassandra was born at 25 weeks on Oct 28th after I was hospitalized for a week, and was 1lb 14oz and 13 inches long. After 14 years of marriage, our fertility specialist had given up on us. I have PCOS, endometriosis, intrauterine septum and a fibroid. Cassandra is truly our miracle girl. At 24 weeks, I lost my mucus plug but without contractions, the hospital told me to stay home. The next day I had a monstrous bloody show, was admitted and given the first set of steroids and magnesium sulfate. At 3 cm dilated, I still wasn’t in labor and her foot was through my cervix. Once she broke my water, I’d have a c-section.

She managed to stay put until a week later when I woke up, peed, and she kicked the toilet paper when I wiped. After an hour of attempting to get the spinal tap to work, our specialist was forced to proceed with the c-section. As she was already guaranteed respiratory issues as a preemie, I wouldn’t agree to anesthesia because of the increased risk this presented. Although I screamed through it, I didn’t give in and allow anesthesia until after Cassandra was born.

After her birth, we found out that the septum that was dividing my uterus had regrown. Unbeknownst to everyone, Cassandra had run out of room and was literally kicking her way out. It took her 3 weeks, but my tenacious little fighter managed to do what she needed to survive.

Cassandra came out fighting and hasn’t stopped since. Initially she had to be on a ventilator and a surgeon had to get the pic line in. She contracted pneumonia from the ventilator and the temporary line they had to put in her chest. She almost died from the pneumonia, until they put her on a steroid regimen, which worked incredibly fast. Even when she was the sickest she was kicking and fighting the nurses whenever they made her upset. They were amazed at her activity level given her blood gasses, etc.

She’s had 10 blood transfusions and has chronic lung disease, but thankfully she is otherwise extremely healthy. She was in the NICU for 94 days and we were with her everyday except when we thought we might be getting sick.

Cassandra was the youngest gestational-aged preemie to successfully nurse at our hospital. We tried non-nutritive nuzzling at 29 weeks and the second she figured out where milk came from, she tried her hardest to nurse. When she sets her mind to something she doesn’t stop trying until she’s succeeded.

Cassandra came home on oxygen 24/7, was weaned down to oxygen only at night and a month ago was taken off oxygen completely. She is still doing phenomenally well. Except for her being not quite 15lbs at 11 1/2 months, you’d never guess what she’s fought and overcome in her short life. She’s my superhero!

Using Three Or More Characteristics of a Super Hero, Please Describe Your Children.

Blues-Fighter (Her happiness is infectious.)

Super Strength (She literally kicked her way through my cervix.  Took her 3 weeks but she literally kicked her way out.)

Tenacity (see above)

Fighter (She was punching and kicking the doctor during the delivery)

Resiliency

Skunkalicious- She earned the nickname Skunk while in the Nicu. When she tooted, all the nurses went to the other side for a very good reason!

What advice do you have for future NICU parents?

When you can’t hold them, Read children’s books to them.  Your child knows your voice and will be comforted by it.  Go every day that you possibly can, even if you can only sit by their isolette and talk to them.  Your child knows if you’re there or not.