Hannah was born May 29, 2003 at 31 weeks gestation weighing 2 pounds, 2 ounces and measuring 15 inches long.
She was a resident in Sioux Valley’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for 59 days. With the help of one dose of surfactant, supplemental oxygen for 13 days, a nasal gastric feeding tube for multiple weeks, caffeine therapy for apnea spells and tender loving care of the NICU staff, Hannah defeated respiratory, digestive, growth and development challenges. She is now a healthy and happy 3-year-old living in Minnesota with her parents and younger brother. Hannah is very active, talks up a storm and looks forward to her once weekly pre-school class.
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"It is such a blessing to have a state of the art facility such as the Boekelheide NICU at Sanford Children’s Hospital available. Naturally I, like every parent would have loved to have had the ‘Gerber Baby’ experience with our first child. That is not what was in store for us. In May of 2003 our Daughter Hannah was born at 31 weeks, weighing 2 lbs. 2 oz. and was a NICU patient for 59 days. During that time we were fortunate to receive care from talented and compassionate Physicians, nurses and support staff. Over those two months we were treated like family, not patients with a chart number. Without the expertise and specialized care Hannah received at Sanford, she would not be the happy, healthy 3-year old she is today. We are so grateful to have benefited from the facility. Residents of the area are so fortunate to have this hospital and NICU ready and waiting for them if needed. To only be a maximum of a few hours away by road or by air is a gift. When we were expecting our second child, if it would have been necessary, there is no other NICU I would have come to than Sanford Health."
Steph
Gibbon, MN
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