There are several reasons why a baby should remain in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) after delivery. One of those is to have been born prematurely, which will indicate that the baby will need to stay in the hospital for some time to receive certain care.
The day they finally leave the NICU is a holiday for the whole family, as this means that the most difficult thing has been left behind, and your baby is already strong and healthy enough to go home with her parents.
We share the emotional and moving story of Cullen Porter, a baby who was born prematurely, and who recently had his graduation ceremony after leaving intensive care.
Born through an emergency C-section when he was only 22.2 weeks old, Cullen Porter is the second son of Molli and Robert Porter. After spending 160 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Cullen was finally able to go home with his parents, but it was not easy to get there.
The mother says that her pregnancy was not easy and that she was completely at rest for more than three weeks. The hospital in Florida where I was, He told them that his baby had only 2% chance of survival but could not receive it before 24 weeks, treating Cullen's case as if he had no chance of survival.
In an attempt to save his son's life, the potters called 16 hospitals in three different states, but it was not easy to find one in which they agreed to give Molli a C-section, as most do not do so if the baby is not at least 24 weeks old.
Finally, at USA Children's and Women's Hospital in Alabama, the Potters were received and after an emergency C-section, Cullen was born in March, weighing only 395 grams and was transferred to intensive care.
After 160 days, and one month after what your due date would have been, Cullen leaves home safe and sound. Without a doubt, a highly anticipated moment for his family, who spent five months entering and leaving the NICU.
To celebrate, the hospital staff organized a small graduation ceremony, and his parents dressed him in a cap and gown. In the arms of Nurse Jewel Barbour, little Cullen paraded through the hospital corridor while listening to graduation music to accompany this emotional moment.
Although nurses at the NICU always organize something special for the discharge of babies who go home, it is the first time they organize a graduation for one of them, and that is Cullen was a very special case because of how small he was and the chances he had of surviving, without a doubt, is a great little hero.
Cullen's family had previously gone through the loss of two babies and was not willing to give up so easily. They they hope their case helps another parent not to lose hope and keep fighting for their premature children.
Definitely his intensive care graduation was a very emotional and special moment, both for the family and for the hospital. Now Cullen weighs more than 2.5 kilos, and is already at home with his family.
Photos | Robert and Molli Porter (reproduced with permission)
Via | ABC News
In Babies and more | A hospital celebrates the graduation of premature babies who are finally going home. One of the smallest babies in the world goes home after 307 days in the hospital
