Baby Gloria was born on February 29th this year, a Leap Day, when her mother, at the 26th week of pregnancy, had to undergo an emergency C-section.
The sweet girl was only 2 pounds and was transferred to the NICU right away at the South Texas Health System’s McAllen Medical Center.
There, she spent 80 days.
To celebrate the day she could finally go home with her parents, her mother, Alana Patten, sewed the baby girl a small graduation gown and a cap and placed a small pearl necklace on her neck.
The nurses who loved Gloria waved pom-poms and cheered the sweet girl who was headed home. The departure was the sweetest thing and there was happiness all around.
Premature Babies Have a Chance of Survival
Babies who’re born at 26 weeks usually have 80 percent of survival, reveals recent statistics.
The youngest preemie to survive was one who was born at the 21st week back in 2017 and it weighed only 8.6 ounces.
When she left the hospital at five months old, she was also photographed with a tiny grad cap on her head.
For baby Gloria, the covid-19 made her stay even more complex because of the additional precautionary measures that are taken in hospitals to minimize the spread of the virus.
For one commenter at the story which was shared in a Facebook post, it’s hard to have a baby in the NICU and it’s even worse with the pandemic now.
For example, in the Valley Baptist, one Jennifer Ramirez, noted that only 1 person is allowed to see the baby once per day and the visit lasts only half an hour.
The mother and father of Gloria could see her one at a time.
However, as her father Jon is a healthcare worker and was quite worried about his exposure to the virus because of his risky job, he decided to see her less and held her for the first time after a while when the sweet baby girl came home in May.
Her mother came almost on the daily-she read to baby Gloria and spent time with her as much as she was allowed. She says how being in the NICU is an emotional problem.
She also explains how difficult it was when it was time to go home. Although all measures are for the safety of the babies and the safety of the medical staff and parents, it was a challenging moment.
They’re lucky it’s now behind them.
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