Child's Birth Year
2018

State/Province/Territory
Florida

NICU Hospital for my journey
St. Joseph's Women's Hospital

My NICU Graduate's Journey
Life sometimes throws you a curve ball. Mine came just 2 days after my baby shower, at 31 weeks pregnant, when I was taken by ambulance to the hospital in critical condition due to placenta abruption. The next 24 hours was a blur. There were numerous visits from multiple specialists, but each visit left me overwhelmed, scared, and confused. I spent the next 2 weeks in the hospital fighting for my life, and Zayne spent the next 8 weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. Joseph's Women's Hospital in Tampa. I was so critical that I did not get to see him for the first days of his life.

Zayne was very sick when he first arrived, requiring numerous blood transfusions, life support, and needed the highest level of NICU care available. The NICU can be a very overwhelming place. Especially the first several days. The constant alarms provoke extreme anxiety, but leaving his side was not an option I ever considered.

Many of the milestones you would normally spend at home are spent in the hospital on a completely different timeline. Slowly Zayne began to meet these milestones, one after the next, on his own unique timeline.

After 62 days, and several ups and downs, Zayne finally came home. Though it was a relief to close this chapter, we were scared new parents with a preemie, and it was hard to leave the care team (Even though Mom is a nurse!).

After several days settling in to our new routine as a family, we looked forward to celebrating new milestones together.



What makes you proud of you NICU graduate?
Zayne never achieved his milestones “on time”, he overachieved and did them all earlier than expected despite his early entrance into this world.

At 2 years old he was riding a bike without training wheels.
At 3 years old, he was recognizing all his sight words, could count and knew the alphabet and showed signs of readiness for reading.
At 4 years old he skipped VPK and went straight to kindergarten.
At every stage he was naturally more advanced than his peers both socially and academically.

He has an unselfish regard for others’ well-being, altruism in its purest form, and that’s what makes my heart so proud.

Weight at Birth (lbs. or Grams)
3 lbs

Weeks Gestation
31 Weeks

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