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NEWBORN CENTER
Diagnosed at birth,
hyaline membrane disease
Taylor’s first breaths after she was born immediately triggered alarm. It didn’t take long for a diagnosis: her lung wasn’t fully formed and she wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Taylor had hyaline membrane disease.
After doctors delivered her by C-section 35 weeks into her mother Shannon’s pregnancy, neonatologists gave Taylor an injection of surfactant to try to stimulate growth of the lung. Typically babies respond well to that, but she did not and that’s when Shannon decided Taylor needed to be at Texas Children’s Hospital.
“The team from
Kangaroo
CrewSM called me to describe what the procedure was going to be for moving her. That was all very reassuring. It was like a well-trained
special forces team. Never did I feel afraid for her. In fact, from that moment I felt she was going to be in good hands,” Shannon recalled.
Taylor was admitted into the
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) on Feb. 13, 2004. Shannon arrived the following day, Valentine’s Day, after her own release from the hospital.
“There was a
child life specialist who was there. She prepared me for what I’d see when I went into the unit. Taylor was on a vent with tubes and wires and her little body hooked up to all types of machines and monitors. It helped to know what to expect,” Shannon said.
Taylor was at Texas Children’s for 28 days. She was on a ventilator for nine days. Then came the challenge of weaning her off – because the longer a baby is on a vent the more dependent it becomes. She stayed in the NICU
for 17 days, where she was under the care of
Dr. Leonard E. Weisman, chief of neonatology at Texas
Children’s and the head of neonatology at
Baylor College of Medicine.
“It was just the luck of the
draw to end up being cared for by a world-renowned physician,”
Shannon said.
“What a man! I was just so
impressed with him. This guy was superb as were
all the other doctors and nurses,” said Joe, Shannon’s father
and Taylor’s grandfather. “I remember talking in the cafeteria,
and we couldn’t come up with who the best one was. They were
just terrific.”
Slowly, Taylor’s condition
improved and she was moved to the nursery. Right before she was
due to be discharged she had a setback and had to go back on
oxygen. Shannon said the nurses who tended to Taylor helped her,
as well – from a reassuring hand on the shoulder to a gentle
suggestion that she should try to nap while her daughter was
sleeping.
“I really felt so well cared
for,” Shannon said.
Taylor is now a healthy, happy
toddler and is home with her three sisters. She has
her grandfather, an unflappable ex-Navy pilot, wrapped around
her finger.
“Through every person at
Texas Children’s, my child was made better – and it wasn’t just
the physicians. It was the child life specialist, the people who
came to bring the linens –every person I encountered there
helped in the healing of my child. The staff kept my strength
and hope up, in addition to all the care they were giving
Taylor. Because of all they did, we both were able to come out
of this ordeal healed,” Shannon said.
“From my perspective, there
is no place on the planet that can provide the total care of an
infant that even remotely comes close to what Texas Children’s
provides,” Joe said. “My advice to other families is, if there’s
a problem, get to Texas Children’s.”
Learn more about:
Kids Courageous home |
Newborn Center
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