I have 2 amazing NICU stories to share.
The roller coaster ride all began on St. Patrick’s Day 2004. I was 23 weeks pregnant with my first child and I went into labor. I arrived at the hospital and was told I was 10 centimeters dilated. I was shocked!! The nurse came in to do an ultrasound and then discovered that I was 1.5cm dilated with an hour glass membrane (my water had not broken but half my bag was out of my cervix with baby still in my cervix). They angled my head down and feet up and administered magnesium sulfate to stop labor. At 2pm on March 18th, my doctor did another ultrasound only to discover I was 6 cm dilated and my son was halfway out of my cervix and he was breech. They did an emergency c-section and he was born at 23 weeks weighing 1lb 10oz and 13 in long. He was immediately taken to the NICU where he was placed on an oscillator. At 1 week old he was diagnosed with NEC and rushed into emergency surgery to repair his intestines. The doctor came out of surgery and told my husband and I that our son now had a liver bleed and he did not know how to stop it. My son was then transferred to Children’s Hospital an hour away and luckily they were able to stop the bleed. At 3 weeks old he was diagnosed with Stage 3 ROP in Zone 1 of both eyes. He had numerous laser surgeries to try to save his vision throughout his NICU stay where his right eye got worse and his left eye got better. He spent 4.5 months in Children’s Hospital, and he went through 12 total surgeries before he finally came home with us. He is now a happy and healthy 9 year old, he does wear glasses…due the ROP he has only light perception in his right eye and very low vision in his left eye, but in no way shape or form does he let that slow him down.
