Child's Birth Year
1988

State/Province/Territory
Michigan

NICU Hospital for my journey
William Beaumont Hospital

My NICU Graduate's Journey
Peter was born at 33 weeks weighing about 3 lbs 11 ounces. Due to serious NEC, nourishment (except fluids) was withheld for a time and his weight ultimately dropped to 2.5 lbs. He had an extremely high rate of apnea - the highest recorded in his NICU at the time, and went home later than planned on a monitor, various drugs and with visiting nurses. His monitor went off (due to cessation of breathing) several times a night for the first few months. He was fed very small amounts of high calorie formula frequently throughout the day due to his tiny size. There were problems with his retinas and we saw Dr Tracy regularly, a renowned infant retinologist, for almost 2 years. Slowly, as he grew, all his major problems resolved. We were told he may be somewhat developmentally delayed in different ways. He was a little throughout grade school and middle school. He was a participant in a premie study for years through Beaumont Hospital. Now my son, Peter C. McNeill, MD, is an Internal Med / Hospitalist / Assistant Professor at University of Texas Hospital in Tyler Texas.

What makes you proud of you NICU graduate?
Peter is a kind, gentle, generous man. He takes his role as a physician seriously, treating his patients with the care and concern that he himself received as an infant in the NICU. Peter is very cognisent of his start in the NICU and how the care he received from the NICU doctors and nurses impacted his life and future.

Weight at Birth (lbs. or Grams)
3 lbs 11 oz

Weeks Gestation
33 Weeks

Time spent in the NICU (Specify Day, Month, or Year)
1 Month