Chiron W

Chiron W ~ Super Hero Alias: Scrappy Doo

Current age: 9.5 months old
Weight at birth: 3 lbs, 1 oz (1402 grams)
Weeks Gestation: 29 weeks, 6 days
NICU stay: 53 days

Diagnosis, surgeries, complications?

Really just prematurity: respiratory support necessary, A&Bs, and nutritional support. A little hyperbilirubinemia and GERD thrown in to be like big brother and that’s pretty much it. His prematurity was a result of the inter-utero death of his twin sister.

Why Should Your Child Be Recognized as Preemies of the Year?
Chiron could serve as Preemie of the Year not due to his uniqueness, but due to his ordinariness.

Chiron was born a day shy of 30 weeks after almost six weeks of preterm labor and hospital bedrest due to the interutero death of his twin sister, Aurelia.

He suffered nothing unique. He didn’t contract any unusual conditions. He simply was born too early and too small.

He received support to eat, to breathe, to regulate his body temperature and to continue to develop. He exists because of the constant vigilance and care of neonatal staff every day, not just in crisis situations.

Chiron is a living model of what we are all seeking to provide for all preemies and thus I believe serves as a powerful model in the role of Preemie of the Year.

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

The main characteristic that qualifies Chiron to serve as a superhero is his scrappiness. He was nicknamed Scrappy Doo by one of his NICU nurses when he was just a couple weeks old because she said he was always stronger than they anticipated. Yes, he was small, but he could do things that the staff weren’t used to babies of his age and size doing. Sometimes this was good, like breathing just fine when his CPAP came off while they waited for a respiratory tech to be free to fix it rather than requiring bagging or anything. Sometimes it was neutral, like requiring three nurses to hold him for a blood draw while he weighed under four pounds. Sometimes it was negative (from the perspective of a nurse), like when he required nine NG tubes to be placed in the course of one day despite only having eight feeds a day!

Chiron remains scrappy to the day. He has severe reflux and allergic enterocolitis and so still weighs under 15 pounds. Yet, he can require multiple people to hold him down for bloodwork or to place an IV. Yet, he can stand supported by a chair. He is small, but he is scrappy.

I believe it is the superhero way to take something that might be viewed as a weakness, small size, and instead turn it into a strength.

Resilience is the second characteristic that I think supports the designation of Chiron as a superhero. Whether it’s his happy demeanor in dealing with vomiting a couple dozen times a day, adjusting to a NICU nurse changing multiple things in his usual operating procedures at the same time or continuing on as an active, playful boy despite critically low levels of iron, Chiron refuses to succumb to anything we have seen thus far. This ability is perhaps what is necessary to take one from hero to superhero.

Finally, Chiron has the characteristic of a superhero in that he has a sidekick. His older brother has been devoted to him from the day he was born, gently touching the top of Chiron’s head exactly as he was instructed, throughout his entire time in the NICU, at home and later hospital stays. And true to a sidekick relationship, Chiron has reciprocated the relationship with his big brother being the cause of his first smile, his first laugh and his first giggling episode. He derives strength and desire to stretch his limits and do new things to be closer to and more like his brother.

Scrappy Doo he is.

What advice do you have for future NICU parents?

Ask questions, learn and really work to develop autonomy and comfort.

Describe how Hand to Hold’s services are meaningful to you and future families. What kind of support would have helped you most during your journey?

The feeling of not being alone.