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You are here: Home / Micro Preemie Mondays / Micro Preemie Stories: Rad’s Journey

Micro Preemie Stories: Rad’s Journey

January 15, 2018 By Shann 12 Comments

Micro Preemie Stories

Every Monday, I share micro preemie stories for a number of different reasons. Not only do these journeys raise awareness for premature birth, but they provide hope and strength to other families going through a similar experience.

#prematurebirth #micropreemie Micro Preemie Stories shared for awareness and to give hope to those in a similar situation

When I was pregnant with my twins, I remember looking for micro preemie stories myself. I was so worried that my babies would be born early because it was such a complicated pregnancy. I needed to hold on to the hope that they would be OK when they were born, so I looked to see how young babies could survive. I also looked to see how small some of the amazing survivors were because one of my twins was very behind in growth.

One doctor told me he would never make it to viability, and if he did, he wouldn’t weigh enough.

Luckily, that doctor was wrong. I also had proof that babies that small and that young could survive in the stories that I found, even though there weren’t many.

After my twins birth, I found many support groups, and I realized that there were so many other stories of hope out there. While it was hard for me to find them doing a regular Internet search, it was not hard to find them in these groups.

Which brings us to today, and these amazing micro preemie stories I’m able to share with you each week. Thank you so much to everyone who has shared their journey, including today’s miracle.

I’m honored to bring you Rad, as told by his mom, Meghan.

1. Tell us about your baby.

Radson, “Rad”, was born at 26 weeks, 1 day, weighing 600 grams due to severe preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, and IUGR.
micro preemie stories, Rad's journey
I was too sick to continue pregnancy, and his heart rate had become worrisome. I had 3 days in hospital from admission to the day we did the c-section. We call him our little soldier!
micro preemie stories

2. How long was your NICU stay? What was the hardest part?

Our total NICU stay was 102 days – 19 of which were spent in a level 2 in our home town before being discharged.
Our hardest part was on October 16th, at just under 7 weeks old. I felt comfortable enough and he was doing well, that I made the 2 hour trip home for a “me day” and to get some things tied up at home, as I had been rushed to hospital with no warning back in August. I had spoken with his nurse already 3 times that morning, and he was having a great day. They even weaned his high flow.
That afternoon we were called that we needed to get back ASAP. Rad had gotten sick and had been reintubated. They feared a few different scenarios, and were waiting on results.
By the time we got there, they had determined he had NEC and the surgical team was on standby at a nearby hospital. He looked awful, and our feisty baby was now deathly ill and sedated. We had so much guilt and fear, and I still think about that day even now months later.
micro preemie stories
That was a very hard night for us all. Going X-ray to X-ray hoping he would make it through, and without surgery. He was barely 3 lbs. He narrowly avoided surgery, but was slow to bounce back. It was found the next day that he actually had 3 infections -NEC, a blood infection, and urinary tract infection.
micro preemie stories

Our little solider fought hard, and came out on the other side of a very scary time.

3.Do you know what caused your premature birth?

It was my first pregnancy, and we got pregnant with infertility treatment.
I had a rapid onset of preeclampsia symptoms over the course of a weekend which turned severe and scary quickly. I was taken to Mt. Sinai in Toronto on the Monday and delivered via c-section on the Thursday, which was August 31st, 2017.
ย micro preemie stories

HELLP syndrome had developed as well, and my kidneys and liver were in trouble. An ultrasound showed Rad also had IUGR and was in the 2nd percentile, giving more reason to get him out.

4.How are you and your baby doing now?

We have been home for 5 weeks now and are doing well.

micro preemie stories

Rad still has some issues with feeding and reflux, but he has improved so much, and we don’t anticipate it being a long-term problem.

He is now 8 lbs and a happy boy. He is being monitored closely by the doctors and dietician to ensure proper growth. Rad also developed ROP in the NICU and has been having weekly eye appointments to monitor the development of it for a couple of months now.

He is smiling lots, and is working on his tummy time and 2 month milestones everyday.

We love seeing him grow and change daily!

ย micro preemie stories

5. What advice would you give to a new preemie family?

It does get better.
We had a family 5 weeks ahead of our journey in the NICU that always gave us hope and encouragement through the hard days and the good days too. They told us it gets better, and they were right. And when they finally got to bring their daughter home, and Rad was the big boy in the NICU of many new micros, I would tell the new parents the same.
Find support in those parents going through the same thing. No one will understand better. Accept help and support from your family and friends even when it’s hard.
Share your story! No one can help you out or understand if you don’t let them in. Sharing Rad’s day-to-day on our website gave the one’s we loved hope and something to look forward too. We all could see the changes and progress that helped us all soldier on through the months.
micro preemie stories

More Micro Preemie Stories

Thank you again to Meghan for sharing sweet and strong Rad with us. Please leave any supportive comments for them below.

I am always in need of more micro preemie stories to share, so if you or someone you know would be interested, please click HERE.

micro preemie stories

Filed Under: Blog, Micro Preemie Mondays Tagged With: blood infection, eye doctor, feeding, hellp syndrome, hospital, iugr, micro preemie monday, NEC, NICU, oxygen, preeclampsia, re-intubated, ROP, urinary infection

Comments

  1. Trudy May says

    January 15, 2018 at 7:45 am

    Thank you for sharing this story!! It is good to hear these positive stories sometimes!

    Reply
  2. Kim Munoz says

    January 15, 2018 at 11:08 am

    That #Ladiesman onsie is perfect! My heart is so happy to read that he is doing well. Sending continued prayers to him and his family!

    Reply
  3. Marta says

    January 15, 2018 at 11:15 am

    Bless you! As a mother of multiples (I have twins too!) I totally understand the stress of having baby admitted to the NICU. Our Baby B (our daughter) was admitted directly after birth, thankfully, ours was just preventive and she was out shortly after. I’ll continue to keep you all in my prayers, and look forward to updates as he progresses!

    Reply
  4. Blushy Darling says

    January 15, 2018 at 11:25 am

    I’m so happy he is doing great! I’m not a mum and I still get super emotional reading these stories, he is truly a little soldier!

    Reply
  5. Lisa Grant says

    January 15, 2018 at 12:21 pm

    This is such an inspirational post and truly a great story. Thank you for sharing this!

    Reply
  6. Charlotte says

    January 15, 2018 at 4:07 pm

    Awww, I’m so glad to hear this has a happy ending, but my goodness… to spend more than 100 days in NICU. that had to be so difficult on everyone ๐Ÿ™

    Sending all my love and hugs and prayers to you all. Thank you for sharing this story with us <3

    Reply
  7. Marcie Wirtz Cheung says

    January 15, 2018 at 11:48 pm

    My son was a preemie and we had a short stint in the NICU. It was the hardest time in my life and I can’t even imagine had he been a micro preemie. I’m so glad Rad is doing well!

    Reply
  8. Holly Lasha says

    January 16, 2018 at 10:32 am

    Oh precious. The NICU is a blessing and a hardship all at once. Glad he’s healthy and growing:)

    Reply
  9. Ruthie Ridley says

    January 16, 2018 at 2:30 pm

    Over 100 days in the hospital with a baby requires a lot of strength!!! I am so glad he is doing well!!

    Reply
  10. Mariah @ Like Honey says

    January 17, 2018 at 12:14 am

    What a sweet little warrior! He is a wonderful testimony to the value of LIFE! This post was shared in perfect timing with the anniversary of Roe V Wade– I hope this story reaches someone who needs it most!

    Mariah
    http://www.likehoneyblog.com

    Reply
  11. Lyndsey Piccolino says

    January 17, 2018 at 6:44 am

    these babies are such amazing blessings!! As are the mamas, dads, and NICU staff that care for them!

    Reply
  12. Jazzmine Woodard says

    January 18, 2018 at 2:49 pm

    So glad to see that Rad is thriving! My sister was a preemie and spent one month in the NICU so I love reading stories like these. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply

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Meet Shann

Shann Hi! I'm a mom, writer, and dancer. I love sharing my parenting experiences, my healthy living tips, my money saving ideas, and our travel plans. My passion to help other women inspired this blog. I hope you'll stay a while and come back often.

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