Baby Steps
When Luke was born at 28 weeks without a heartbeat and not breathing, his mother Amy was terrified. She had no complications during pregnancy but a placental abruption would change everything. Doctors were able to resuscitate Luke quickly and he was whisked away to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where he would spend the next 69 days. He was placed on a ventilator, diagnosed with chronic lung disease, jaundice, anemia, and would need blood transfusions and IV nutrient treatments. After his stay in the NICU, Luke was moved to a transitional care unit for the next 14 days since he was not yet ready to return home.
When Luke finally came home after nearly three months, he was a pretty sick baby. Luke was on an AB monitor for his heart, oxygen 24 hours a day, given breathing treatments twice a day and was on diuretics since he had fluid retention in his lungs. Because of all of his medical equipment, Amy turned the family’s dining room into Luke’s bedroom and the couch into her bed. Since he did spend the first three months of his life in the hospital, Luke didn’t move much. His mother noticed he wasn’t doing what other babies his age were doing like rolling over or moving his head around. This is when Kay, a physical therapist with The Early Learning Institute (TELI), was introduced to Luke.
Kay began doing physical therapy with Luke and working on small movements. At first, they would stop therapy after only five minutes since Luke’s breathing would become labored. “She’d (Kay) take a break at these points and kind of talk to us a little bit and reassure us that it was okay and we were going to move on from this,” said Amy. Then, step by step, the transformation really started happening. Little by little, he started doing more movements, turning his head side to side, rolling over, doing tummy time, and then, the progression of sitting, crawling and walking. Today, Luke is climbing and becoming more stable.
Amy said she would absolutely recommend TELI because “the staff is very supportive, well educated, and they know what they are doing.” When asked about what advice she would give other parents in similar situations, she said, “It is an absolute roller coaster ride. They tell you that from day one in the hospital…that you are going to have a lot of ups and downs. I would suggest getting to know your doctors and nurses and the support staff that you have. Ask a ton of questions. That’s what they are there for…to help you.”
Now 18 months and weighing over 25 pounds, Luke is no longer on oxygen and is enjoying all of the things toddlers his age enjoy. In fact, he has been discharged from physical therapy completely. Luke is enrolled in TELI’s Baby Butterflies socialization program, which Amy says, “has been great. He is interacting with other kids his age now, starting to learn how to play and getting used to other people.”
Luke can teach us all one of life’s greatest lessons: sometimes, it’s learning to take baby steps.
