Fight for Preemies
Today is Fight for Preemies day sponsored by the March of Dimes. If you have a loved one who was born premature, honor them and others, by participating in this Fight For Preemies blog event! You join the event HERE.
*************************************************
Ethan’s Story
Ethan was born on May 31st at 35 weeks because I had a rare and life-threatening condition called HELLP.
Ethan was a very lucky boy! With the help of some great doctors and nurses, E’s stay in the NICU was minimal (10 days).
We had to be patient with E. Since he was born 5 weeks early, he was not born with the ability to eat and breathe at the same time. This reflex usually kicks in around 36 weeks. The nurses assured me that we would see great improvement with E as soon as he hit that milestone. And we did!
We were lucky. E had a few strikes against him being born so early: he was a boy and he was only 35 weeks. Before my c-section, the neonatologist went over risks and told us not to be surprised if he couldn’t breath on his own {not that I would have known it at the time since I was knocked out}. There was no time for the steriod shot to mature his lungs so we had to take our chances.
E surprised everyone. He came out screaming {a sound I wish I could have heard}! From the moment he was born, E was breathing on his own and did not need any interventions to help him. I am very thankful for that.
The hubster and I were very grateful for the support that we received while E was in the NICU. The hospital staff, social workers, nurses and doctors were there for us 24/7. We were never made to feel like we couldn’t visit our baby or call to check in on him. When I was discharged, the nurses gave us a card with their phone numbers and schedules. They assured us that we could call whenever we wanted. When we visited E, they were always there by our sides telling us how he was doing, what to expect, what we could do.
Every day, babies are born much earlier than Ethan was. Some spend many months in the hospital. Sadly, some babies never make it home to their loving families. Too many parents know the heartbreak of having a baby born fighting to survive.
*************************************************************
Are you participating in today’s Fight for Preemies? Link up!