Phoebe

Child's Birth Year
2025

State/Province/Territory
Oregon

NICU Hospital for my journey
OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital

My NICU Graduate's Journey
Phoebe was born at 23 weeks and 4 days due to severe preeclampsia and was extremely growth restricted, weighing less than a pound. We were told again and again by doctors that she would likely not survive birth and they might not even have equipment small enough to resuscitate her. We felt we had to give her a chance and sure enough Phoebe came out feisty and fighting - defying all the odds. Her NICU journey was a mixture of joy, fear, love and overall perseverance. She faced nearly every obstacle from a brain bleed, various ventilators, weeks of paralytics, failed extubation, infections, to multiple surgeries and medication withdrawals. Due to her primary diagnosis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, she now has a tracheostomy and ventilator as well as a g-tube. After 327 tenacious days she finally came home right before Christmas of 2025. Now Phoebe is a happy playful girl filled with smiles all day long. She is getting stronger and stronger each and every day. We can't wait to see the wonderful progress she will make in the years to come!

What makes you proud of your NICU graduate?
We couldn't be more proud of how hard Phoebe has fought. Through every obstacle she faced, through the many times we were told she might not make it, she fought to be here and has shown us that she can and will live a beautiful happy life, even if it's different from others. Since coming home her ventilator settings have been cut in half and at the end of this month she will start having time off of the ventilator, working towards decannulation. She is working at her own pace but continues to slowly reach milestones as she works on catching up developmentally. We are so proud that Phoebe has shown us the joy that can exist when parenting a kiddo who has differences/medical complexities. At the end of the day we are simply a family filled with so much love.

Weight at Birth (lbs. or Grams)
371 grams

Weeks Gestation
23 weeks 4 days

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