A tiny baby boy, born over 600 miles away from his parents’ home at just 23 weeks, is preparing to go home after four and a half months in hospital.
Jade Quatro and her husband live in North Carolina, but they were in Aruba for a babymoon in early March ahead of their baby’s due date on 30 June. Unfortunately, on the last day of their holiday, Jade began to have some difficulties.
“We were on a babymoon in Aruba back in early March”, Jade said. “I was only 23 weeks. The last day of our vacation I was feeling totally fine until we had some complications that night. You know, some bleeding, and then things took a turn from there”.
The couple remained in Aruba for a few days coordinating their travel back to the United States.
“My membranes had ruptured, and I was dilating. So, they explained the risks, and they don’t have a NICU [neonatal intensive care unit] there. They coordinated with Holtz [hospital in Miami, Florida] on getting us here where things could look a lot different”, said Jade.
“Fortunately, we were able to be flown from Aruba to Miami and we were able to be brought here because they were the closest for NICU”.
Baby Kaden was born at just 23 weeks weighing only 1 pound 4 ounces
“[Baby Kaden] was born at only one pound, four ounces”, Jade said. “So, he was very tiny. He was in an incubator. He was intubated for six weeks of his life. I didn’t get to hold him until he was three weeks old because he was so high risk”.
However, nurses say that Kaden is a miracle, having not required any surgeries while in the NICU, and, five months after his birth, was weighing nine pounds.
“He’s come a long way. He’s fully off oxygen”, said Jade. “The only thing we’re working on is feedings. He currently gets some of his feeds through the tube in his nose”.
“It’s been a rollercoaster”, she added. “The most terrifying, stressful rollercoaster of my life”.
Jade and her family supported by local charity
Jade was introduced to the organisation ICU Baby, a non-profit helping families across five South Florida hospitals.
The Executive Director of the organisation, Elizabeth Simonton, said “ICU Baby is an organization that unites NICU families and offers them financial, emotional and informational support so that they can thrive in the NICU”.
“Our mentor program brings veteran NICU parents into the hospital to mentor our current NICU parents and they’re able to offer their lived experience as a way to help that family that’s going through it, to guide them”, she went on. “It’s really nice to hear success stories from them”.
Jade found ICU Baby a great support in her difficult experience. She said “ICU Baby has been awesome, especially being far away from home, having to manage meals, lodging, everything on top of the stress of the NICU is very overwhelming”.
“They had special events. We were here for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Easter. They had special events, so we could at least do something on those holidays and have some sense of normalcy”, she added.
“It’s the craziest journey you could imagine, but very rewarding at the end, and it’s unfortunate that so many parents have to go through it”, she said. “But these babies are so strong”.
“The doctors and nurses here are amazing. I put all my trust in them, and they saved my baby”.
After four and a half months in hospital, Jade was waiting to hear that her strong boy could go home to North Carolina.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “Stories like Kaden’s are becoming more common and demonstrating how medical staff work together to enable amazing outcomes for premature babies born even before the UK abortion limit. Good luck to Kaden and his family as they settle into life back home”.
