2 minute read
Your giving delivers The Mace Family
After receiving lifesaving care in our NICU, Patrick Mace is now home with his grateful parents, Brendan and Tsuilei.
Your giving delivers.
As the home of our region’s only level-III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Huntington Hospital gives premature and seriously ill babies the most advanced care available in our region. Generous donor gifts help provide the staff and equipment that are essential for us to give these vulnerable newborns the best possible start in life.
When Tsuilei Mace had her son, Patrick, at only 26 weeks and four days gestation (6 ½ months pregnant), she and her husband Brendan were nervous, but ready. A week earlier, Tsuilei was admitted to Huntington Hospital for preeclampsia, a dangerous pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and potential damage to other organ systems. While she stayed here on bed rest over the course of that
Jamie Powers, MD, medical director ofneonatology, oversees our NICU, which offers the highest level ofneonatal intensive care in our region.
week, she and Brendan talked with our NICU team about what to expect following their baby’s birth. “The doctors told us our son would be born very early, and that he would likely have medical problems requiring NICU care,” says Brendan. “They walked us through what to expect, from delivery to possible outcomes in the NICU.”
When Patrick arrived via cesarean section, he weighed less than two pounds. He had problems with his lungs, an open valve in the blood vessels between his lungs and his heart, reflux problems, hernias, and other medical issues. He received care in our small baby unit, a specialized part of our NICU, where he was placed on a ventilator and carefully monitored. Treatment included several surgeries as well as other needed procedures.
After more than five months in the hospital, Patrick was healthy enough to go home, where he is gaining weight and developing well. In the future — hopefully soon — he will be able to breathe without supplemental oxygen.
His parents are grateful to our staff for above-and-beyond support. “The whole team was phenomenal,” says Tsuilei. “They provided physical and social emotional support, including frequent check-ins on my stress levels. They got me different chairs so I could sit with Patrick without further hurting my back. They also coached us on — for example — how to bathe Patrick and change his diapers without disturbing the various tubes and wires he was hooked up to. As we prepared for discharge, they helped with insurance and numerous follow-up appointments. You could tell there was genuine compassion there.”
