Jonathan’s Story
By Tricia Neerman

March 6, 2009 was anything but normal for our family. After waking up in the middle of the night knowing something was wrong, my husband and I rushed to the hospital – 26 weeks pregnant and terrified. After some tests and medication to bring down my blood pressure, I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia.
Once we knew it would only be hours before we would meet our little guy, we were visited by the main NICU doctor and NICU nurses to help us understand what our immediate future might look like and some of the challenges that could occur with a micro-preemie. We met our new son just after 9:30 that evening. He was assessed, given assistance to help his lungs, and whisked to the NICU. His home for the next 99 days.
Those first days were so surreal that at times I wonder if my memories are really from some TV show or movie – not reality. Thankfully, after many assessments, we were told that while tiny, our son was as healthy as could be expected. They (correctly) anticipated that his two biggest hurdles would be breathing without oxygen and learning to eat on his own. Because he was born preterm, it was not long before the doctors determined that our little guy was working too hard and would need additional nutrition. He was fed breast milk that the nurses would enrich with human milk fortifier to increase his nutrition.
Our NICU journey was slow but steady for the next couple of months. At that time, we were told our baby had reached the correct size for a surgeon to correct a minor hernia. Almost immediately following that surgery, we discovered he would need another surgery for pyloric stenosis, something common in full term babies but not preemies.
We can’t imagine a world where nutritional options for our preterm baby were not available to help him thrive. Fifteen years later we have a smart, active, and funny son. Don’t tell him this, but every time his father and I watch him eat we are thankful. It was a difficult journey, but worth every second.