In our August edition of our Preemie Family newsletter we learned about the incredible Kayden Bawa, a preemie born at 26 weeks, who was 1 lbs. 10 oz. at birth and spent 87 days in the NICU.
Read more in an update by his mother, Dinez.
by Dinez, Kayden’s Mother:
- Pregnancy Joys and then Suddenly, Fears
- Our story started on August 4, 2006. I had finally taken enough pregnancy tests and we finally got two pink lines!!!! My husband and I could not have been happier.From that moment on, our whole life changed. I was about 8wks pregnant when I started having some bleeding; I was terrified that I would miscarry. But the baby was doing fine. I was put on bed rest and informed I might miscarry and that it was out of my hands…very hard for a control freak like me to hear! So I stayed in bed until I was 13 wks pregnant and the bleeding had stopped.We went to see a high-risk pregnancy doctor who diagnosed me with a subchorionic hematoma, he said it would either cause me to miscarry or it would resolve itself. At 16 weeks, yippee ……the clot was gone!! We also found out that we were having a baby boy!!! We were so happy and I was taken off bed rest and went back to work part-time.At my 22-week scan, I got bad news that I did not have enough amniotic fluid . . . oh dear, more to worry about. We went to another specialist who was convinced that I must have been leaking fluid. I am a Labor and Delivery Nurse, so I knew for sure that I could not be leaking. I was put back on bed rest and was hospitalized. I spent the next few weeks worrying and wondering what would happen. I must have asked God a million times why me? All I wanted was a healthy baby and a normal pregnancy.
I remember the day the neonatologist came to see me in the hospital, he sat down with me, my husband and my parents and gave us all the statistics about preemies, I remember sitting there not even listening to him because I was convinced that I was not having a preemie . . . I was in pure denial!!! On January 12, 2007 at 10:26 p.m., I gave birth to a 26-weeker baby boy. Kayden weighed 1 lb. 10 oz. (827 grams) and was 14 ½ inches long.
In the NICU and on the Roller Coaster
He was so tiny . . . I heard his little cry for just few seconds and then he was intubated. He seemed to be doing fine at the time . . . 7 hours later everything went downhill.
The neonatologist called me at 7 a.m. the next morning and told me that Kayden had taken a turn for the worst and he may not make it. He had two collapsed lungs, pulmonary hypertension and had to be put on an oscillator. My husband and I went down to the NICU and just sat there while they tried everything to save my little boy. I could not imagine my life without him, how could I let this happen to him . . . I felt like I had failed him as a mother because I could not even carry him to term. They finally got nitirc oxide started on him and he started to improve.
Our next bump in the road was the day I got a phone call from the neonatologist that Kayden had developed NEC. Oh my God, I thought for sure that I was going to lose my little boy. The surgeon came and informed us that Kayden was too little to have surgery and that he was inserting a Penrose drain as a temporary solution. Twenty one days went by after that surgery and Kayden was to have a barium swallow to check for strictures. God decided to bless Kayden that day by making sure that his intestines were perfect!!!! But we still had one more surgery . . . laser eye surgery.
The NICU roller coaster that was a ride I wanted to get off of, it was full of fear, and too many twists and turns. I learned so much about giving up control and trusting in God. I knew that his fate was already decided and all I could do is wait for God to show me His plan. I watched babies in the NICU day by day, some lived and some did not. It was such humbling experience and has made me so appreciative for my children and most of all the woman I am today.
Discharge to Home
On April 4, 2007, we brought our little boy home!!!!! After 87 long days in the NICU, we were a family at home. Kayden came home on oxygen and an apnea monitor, but he was alive and home. I truly believe that God only gives us what he thinks we can handle and he must have thought we can handle being parents to a preemie. Kayden has taught me so much about life; I wake up each day grateful for him and my family. We thank God every day for him, and we think about all the wonderful nurses and doctors from Memorial Hermann—Southwest every day.
Kayden Today
Today, Kayden is a happy, loving, smart, caring little six year old. He is a great big brother to his sister and enjoys playing piano, art and swimming. He has scars from the tubes and when he asks what they are I tell him, they are his “battle scars”. We live each day remembering our NICU experience and feel for every family that has to experience the NICU ride.
Photo Credits: Bawa Family
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