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I didn't know how important it was when the nurse and the sonographer said, 'Your baby is small" and , "Are you sure about your last menstrual period?"
Turns out I had a dead spot in my placenta, and I continued to work as a waitress. The baby wasn't growing. I developed preeclampsia, was airlifted to Sacred Heart in Pensacola and Brooklyn was delivered via C-section 3 days later. She was 1 lb  4oz at 27 weeks. The worry and fear that ensues from a situation like that is heartwrenching. I couldn't eat much due to the depression and worry.  This was March 2007.
She remained vent dependent and was put on CPAP nasal mask in early May. She tried the cannulas, but the oxygen flow was too great, plus she just got too tired. The DR. tried to get her oxygen down, but could not. We were hoping for level II NICU, but no luck. So back to nasal CPAP until the end of July when she aspirated, got Pneumonia and got reintubated. During this time, she was flown down to Shands for a PDA ligation, but it didn't happen because of her PPHN. Then in August, even though she had PPHN, UAB hospital at the Kirklin center ligated her PDA. Then back to Sacred Heart in Pensacola.
August and September floated by slowly. All the while trying to wean her to nasal cannulas. But she was on Fentanyl, and methadone. I couldn't believe it! Methadone. I didn't even drink coffee when I was pregnant with Brooklyn. In mid October, we opted for the trach. Then we got her on Bosentan for her Pulmonary Hypertension. It began to work to control the hypertension.
Then I found out I was pregnant. A sibling for Brooklyn.
Brooklyn's vent settings (peep, pressure support, etc) were never low enough to get her home. So we just kept waiting. Through the commuting 2 hours each way and the visiting hours, and the fact that my older kids were not allowed in to see her made it horrible.
Brooklyn had serratia, a couple horrible staph infections, spent her first birthday having febrile seizures and very very ill, we thought it was meningitis. But she lived!!
So now, fast forward to March 2008. We were almost ready to graduate to a PICU. Just not Sacred Hearts PICU. Their PICU was only a chronic care PICU. It was time for orders for us, as we are military.
Not to mention where we lived, there were no specialists to care for her in Panama City, FL.
So what were we to do?
We found a job for my husband, found specialists to care for Brooklyn and a PICU who could get her ready to come home. Sunrise Children's Hospital in Las Vegas, NV.
I know, Las Vegas, right? CRAZY.
Dr. Parks is her pulmonologist here and we trust his judgement, which is pretty much why we moved here.
Brooklyn just turned two the other day! She is home after 16 months in Intensive Care. She's been home for 8 months now, and we intend to keep it that way. She's happy and thriving, and her little sister was full term and healthy, born 2 weeks after Brooklyn came home. So now they can grow up together and play and be happy together!

• Gender: Female
• Demographic Region: North America
• Siblings: Three
• Medical Conditions: G-Tube, Bronchopulmonary dysplasia, Patent ductus arteriosus, Periventricular leukomalacia, oxygen dependent, Small Corpus Collossum
• Ethnicity: Caucasian

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2 years 46 weeks

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United States

State/Province

Nevada