Child's Birth Year
2020

State/Province/Territory
Ohio

NICU Hospital for my journey
Akron Children's Hospital

My NICU Graduate's Journey
Kali Mae was born at a mere 25 weeks due to a narcotic induced delivery. Her biological mom was immediately arrested. Her caseworker was in our home doing a visit when she got the call about Kali. She looked at us and we back at her. We just knew that she was ours. Kali was born with two brain bleeds, one being a grade two and the other a grade four. She had to be resuscitated twice at birth and should not have survived through it. She did. In the first month of her life, she was abandoned and fought through alone until we were granted visitation by the judge. It was COVID so we were only allowed in one at a time. Her team at Akron Children's Hospital was and continues to be exceptional. We owe them her life both then and now. Due to her traumatic birth, she has quad-spastic cerebral palsy. She is wheelchair bound but practices her walking every day. We officially adopted Kali after three years in foster care. Much longer than we wanted to wait but with COVID and a complicated case it just was not in the cards. We would have waited forever for her though.

What makes you proud of you NICU graduate?
There is nothing that I am not proud of when it comes to Kali. The fact that she came home from the NICU without her oxygen (full time) and without her feeding tube was nothing short of a miracle. We were told many times during her first year of life that she would never roll over, walk, stand, speak, or know who we were. She proved them all wrong and continues to do so every day. She is the smartest four-year-old I know. Her vocabulary is spectacular and grows every day. Her memory is insane and astonishes me. She will continue to defy odds, trust me.

Weight at Birth (lbs. or Grams)
900 Grams

Weeks Gestation
25 Weeks

Time spent in the NICU (Specify Number of Days, Months, or Years)
96 Days