Little miracles
Nicole and Matt Kelso's 10-month-old son, Theo, is unsure about the ears his mom placed on his head as he eyes the camera Saturday afternoon during Kootenai Heath's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) reunion in McEuen Park. The Hayden family shared their story about Theo's early arrival last summer and the six weeks they spent in the NICU as he grew strong and healthy enough to be released from the hospital. Nicole used one word to describe how she felt when her baby came home: "Free." (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
Proud Coeur d’Alene parents Michael Emerson, holding daughter Aria, and Calaise Emerson, holding daughter Adalyn, visit with friends and medical staff Saturday during the Kootenai Health Neonatal Intensive Care Unit reunion in the McEuen Park picnic pavilion.
Matthew Palm of Coeur d'Alene exchanges bottles of bubbles with his 19-month-old daughter, Trinity, during a reunion for Kootenai Health's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) families Saturday in McEuen Park. Trinity weighed a little more than 2 pounds when she was born three months early. She spent 75 days in Kootenai Health before being released, just shy of two weeks before her original due date. She is now flourishing and quite captivated by bubble machines. (DEVIN WEEKS/Press)
COEUR d’ALENE — Thirty-eight days.
Forty-two days.
Eighty-eight days.
Each day seems like an eternity for new parents as their babies fight for their little lives in the neonatal intensive care unit.
"I didn’t get to remember anything," said Larissa Palm of Coeur d'Alene, describing when she underwent an emergency cesarean section to give birth to her daughter, Trinity, who was three months early.
"I woke up and the first thing was, ‘Is she alive?’ because I didn’t expect it,” Palm said. "They put me in a wheelchair and wheeled me down there. It’s the craziest thing because your firstborn, your first baby is right there and you can’t touch her, you can't hold her. She had breathing issues for a while."
Trinity was just under 2 pounds when she was born. Her hospital stay was 75 days. During that emotional time, Larissa and her husband, Matthew, bonded with those who cared for their tiny daughter.
"Honestly, as much time as we spent there, everybody was so great and so supportive," Larissa said.
The Palms joined many families with similar stories during Kootenai Health's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) reunion Saturday in McEuen Park. They got to see some familiar faces from the hospital, including NICU manager Anna Werner and the primary nurse who worked with them, Kristie Hiiva, who has become a personal friend.
"I've always said that you guys are my angels," Larissa said to Werner and Hiiva. "You saved my daughter’s life how many times? It means a lot."
And Trinity, now 19 months old, enjoyed playing in bubbles, stealing her dad's phone and otherwise being a perfectly happy, healthy toddler.
“She’s flourishing," Larissa said. "She's doing great."
"To see the progress of Trinity, it’s been just great to be a part of that and to help support them," Hiiva said. "A new friendship has been built."
The NICU reunion, in its second year, is a day for families that once spent sleepless nights on hospital benches to celebrate the progress their children have made since being released from the hospital's care.
"We met a lot of people while we were in there. Lots of people came and went while we were in there, so it’s fun to see them all again," said Calaise Emerson of Coeur d’Alene. "They’re people you can relate to because people that have never been in the NICU for any amount of time, they don’t understand, so it’s nice to have the people who get it."
Calaise and her husband, Michael, welcomed twin girls Adalyn and Aria into the world just about four months ago.
But their birth did not come without hardships.
"They were born about six-and-a-half weeks early, not due to them needing to be born, but due to me having a lot of complications. Because they were early and needed to learn to eat and grow they were in the NICU for 38 days," Calaise said. “It’s rough, but the doctors and nurses are amazing, which makes it a little easier. But it’s never easy getting discharged from the hospital when your baby’s there."
The twins finally got to go home, just in time for their daddy's birthday.
"It was the perfect birthday present to be able to bring them home," Calaise said, gently rocking little Adalyn in her arms.
Matt and Nicole Kelso brought their 10-month-old little guy Theo to the reunion. Theo was also ready to enter the world early, so his stay in the hospital was six weeks.
"We were up all night," Matt said. “Then 3:30 the next morning I’m asleep and the nurse just tossed the scrubs on my back and said, ‘Let’s go, we’re going to go have the baby.’ It was all going so quick.”
Nicole used one word to describe how she felt when Theo was finally released: "Free."
"We were back every day, all day," she said. "They all got to know me very well."
They attended the first NICU reunion last year, when Theo was only a few days out of the hospital.
“It’s nice being around other people that have gone through the same thing," Matt said. "When you’re on the inside and having a baby in the NICU and for me, working outside of that, it is pretty tough to remember that we’re not the only ones that go through it."