{"id":279368,"date":"2022-11-09T16:40:12","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T22:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=279368"},"modified":"2022-11-11T12:35:55","modified_gmt":"2022-11-11T18:35:55","slug":"premature-baby-26-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/premature-baby-26-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"Premature baby born at 26 weeks is now a thriving 8-year-old"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily of Live Action or Live Action News.<\/em><\/p>\n

My wife Cindy\u2019s water broke early one morning in April 2014, while I was out of state on business. She was only 26 weeks into the pregnancy. To Cindy’s credit, she crawled to the bathroom in the early morning hours and\u00a0drove herself to our local hospital while she experienced contractions. However, our local hospital was unable to care<\/a> for a premature child born at this stage of gestation, so they transported her to a neighboring hospital which had the capability to hopefully save her life<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cindy is a real trooper. She is\u00a0a special woman who has a heart of gold and many wonderful motherly qualities. She is giving to others to the core, the love of my life. She worked hard to project a\u00a0positive outlook through\u00a0all that was occurring, but on too many occasions, she was brought to tears and brokenness\u00a0due to her concerns over the survival of our daughter, Caitlyn. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After every attempt was made to keep Caitlyn in the womb and while introducing steroids to help develop her lungs, concerns arose that Cindy may develop an infection that would be passed on to Caitlyn, so doctors decided to conduct an emergency C-section and Caitlyn\u00a0was born three months and three days early weighing just 2.4 lbs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"preemie,

Caitlyn Huber. Photo used with permission of Paul Huber.<\/p><\/div>\n

READ:\u00a0\u2018Not hopeless\u2019: Global map shows hospitals confirmed to have saved 22-week preemies<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Caitlyn’s initial premature days of life outside the womb were precarious, and we were not certain whether she would survive.\u00a0She was so tiny; her lungs were significantly underdeveloped, and she soon developed a stomach perforation where she excreted her feedings and digestive juices and large amounts of trapped gas. Due to the\u00a0swelling, she had a\u00a0port placed in her stomach that drained the excess fluid which placed extra stress on her ability to breathe. <\/span><\/p>\n

She was also diagnosed with PDA, a heart condition, which was keeping her blood and certain organs from being oxygenated adequately due to an underdeveloped heart.\u00a0She was on\u00a0oxygen for about two months and experienced many episodes where she stopped breathing and experienced the accompanying \u201cde-sating” of her oxygen levels. Often, Caitlyn would stop breathing, and\u00a0the nursing staff would promptly\u00a0stimulate her to breathe again and restore her oxygen levels back within an acceptable range. These episodes were difficult, and\u00a0the emotional toll was overwhelming.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a month,\u00a0as slow, steady improvements were made, Caitlyn developed a bacterial blood infection which set her immune system back from building her strength; as a result, she remained quarantined from the other preemies. Concerns were expressed by the\u00a0medical staff that the infection may have spread to her\u00a0spinal fluid, and she had to endure a spinal tap.\u00a0Thankfully, it did not extend to her spine.<\/span><\/p>\n


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