The baby in this photo is the niece of FSN Sandhills’ Program Director, Christine Garton. Heather was born 12 weeks premature at 28 weeks gestation. She remained in the NICU for 6 weeks. Christine recently asked the baby’s mother, her sister Anne, to describe what it was like for her and her family during this difficult time.
“Heather was born February 28, 1986. I had her at 28 weeks, a preemie. One of the most extreme issues was that her lungs were severely underdeveloped. Heather also had jaundice real bad. Immediately after she was born, the doctor said she would not make it and she was transferred to another hospital 45 miles away for pediatric emergency care. By the time I was released out of the hospital and was able to get to the other hospital, her lungs did in fact collapse. While in the NICU Heather progressed a lot faster than the doctors originally thought she would. She was getting better with every passing day. Before long, Heather was ready to come home. All I can say is she was a real fighter. The most difficult part for us was the strain that the distance between home and hospital put on my family and of course not being able to be with her all the time."
- Anne, Mother