All these little miracles returned Saturday to the place of their rescue.
Some snoozed in strollers or snuggled in Mom’s arms, warily watching the crowd. Others charged in on foot, hunting for fun and wondering what the fuss was all about.
The fuss was all about them — their hopeful young lives, the gift of their health.
About 50 families turned out when Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center hosted a reunion for the graduates of its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on Saturday morning. Since the hospital opened five years ago, NICU has been nurturing the most fragile premature babies — the ones that are termed Level III cases.
Like 4-month-old Grace Fletcher, who was born back in April by Caesarean section at 32 weeks and 5 pounds. Grace’s mother, Amanda, had developed preeclampsia, and her blood pressure was skyrocketing; Grace wouldn’t have made it without an emergency exit. And even after that — after a single gasping cry, Amanda said — the baby girl didn’t breathe on her own.
“They said, ‘She’s a girl, and we’re not going to show her to you,’” Amanda said.
Twenty years ago, NICU nurse manager Tammy Jones said, such an infant would have faced really tough odds — and a whole lot of invasive battering during treatment, which could lead to a whole second set of health problems and complications.
Today there are fewer drugs and medications, fewer ventilators — fewer tubes jammed up the nose — and more emphasis on creating an environment that’s “similar to Mama’s tummy,” Jones said: “Warm and nested and quiet, where the baby can feel safe and keep growing.”
Each baby gets a private room, with space for parents to sleep at baby’s side and a refrigerator to store breast milk. There are typically 12 babies here at a time. The upper limit is 22. As of June 2010, the Legacy Salmon Creek NICU has cared for 1,124 babies.
Parents who came to the reunion sang the praises of the place and the staff.
“I love this place. I love all the nurses,” said Heather Fuller.
Tiny feet
Fuller has tiny little feet atop her feet. They’re tattoos of the footprints of her twin boys when they were newborn — at 27 weeks and three pounds each — before Fuller was sure they’d both make it. Justin’s right is on her right. Tristan’s left is on her left.
The twins are 4 years old and doing fine — into everything from quads to books, Fuller reported. Fuller, grateful for the miracle of their good health, is facilitating support groups for current NICU families at the hospital. She’s one of several NICU graduate moms doing so.
“It was really difficult and depressing,” she remembered. “I didn’t know if I was going to make it or not. You feel like a failure. It makes a huge difference to be able to share the experience.”
Plus, she said, it’s great to be able to show families in crisis some premature babies who have grown into totally healthy little kids.
“She’s doing wonderful, and I keep thinking what a gift she is,” Jennifer Dansky reported about her daughter, Brooklyn, who was 31 weeks and was terribly jaundiced and anemic and eventually in need of a blood transfusion.
“We had a moment where a baby was born with no heartbeat,” said Legacy nurse Mark Breakey, who’s been working in neonatal intensive care for 27 years. Breakey said he recently went to that little girl’s first birthday party, and was thrilled to see her dancing up a storm.
“We feel we’ve touched a lot of lives up here,” Jones said. “What’s so fascinating is to see these babies get bigger and come back as toddlers and even 5-year-olds. We saw them during those first few crucial days of life when things were so tough, and then to see them bigger and stronger and running and playing, it’s a nice full circle for staff.”
Scott Hewitt: 360-735-4525 or scott.hewitt@columbian.com.
