Child's Birth Year
2016

State/Province/Territory
California

NICU Hospital for my journey
Children Hospital - Los Angeles

My NICU Graduate's Journey
Steven was stuck in my canal due to having preeclampsia , he lost oxygen for 4 minutes , there had been no doctors available , one doctor that had come out of an emergency c section yanked Steven by his arm almost dislocating it. He was put on a cooling system to freeze his brain cells and given morphine so he could withstand the freezing temperatures at Kaiser in Downey and then transported to Children’s Hospital where he was on ECMO. At a month old Steven suffered a stroke and he remained in the hospital until he was 6 months old. He was then sent to a home where there had been nurses on duty. The first day he was there he turned blue and had to be taken to CHOC in Orange County. Due to being intubated for seven months he was living off a gtube.

What makes you proud of you NICU graduate?
When Steven was taken off ECMO doctors advised he would not meet his milestones and that his left side of his body would not function due to the stroke he suffered. He had extensive nerve damage and couldn’t eat through his mouth, feeding from a gtube till the age of four. Steven surpassed everything the doctors said he wouldn’t be able to do. He regained more than 75% of his nerve function back, he was able to walk and talk, and when they removed his g tube he could chew and swallow. He may have some delays but Steven loves music and has a passion for the guitar and performing like a rockstar. He loves to run and can run fast, last fall he ran the most laps in his grade for the jogathon.

Weight at Birth (lbs. or Grams)
8.9 lbs

Weeks Gestation
39 Weeks

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