I received a phone call late Sunday night, March 3rd of this year... from my mother telling me my sister in law's water had broke and began contractions. Now, in most circumstances this is a moment of happiness because your brother/sister are about to have a baby....it's exciting. But in this case my sister in law was only 23 Weeks pregnant!
It was around midnight but I raced down to the Hospital. When I got there my brother was visibly shaken....he was just recollecting to me the barrage of 'what ifs' and decisions he and my sister in law would have to make would she deliver. They were inundated with confusion and fear.
I am a man of faith so I prayed with them and did my best to be a good big brother and once they got my sister in law stable...the contractions to slow down...I went home.
On Monday she had a good day with no contractions but they were concerned because her water had broken and a baby can't/shouldn't last long without that fluid, so they were exploring treatment options all the while quickly educating my brother and his wife on the odds of very early premature birth and all the details that come with that info.
On Tuesday I got the call that her contractions began again and they weren't sure they'd be able to stop them. Shortly after arriving at the hospital my nephew, Maximus Miller, was born into this world at 23 weeks, 2 Days old. He was 11" and weighed 1lb 5 oz.
St. Louis boasts one of the Worlds best Children's Hospital. Consistently in the top 10, #6 this year and has been in the top 3. Maximus was born at a hospital connected to Children's so he was immediately whisked into their NICU unit.
You can imagine the odds that he faced. The youngest infant to survive is 22 Weeks, 8 days....so he was borderline at best.
I'm sure most of you are aware that the last thing to develop in a kid while in utero are the lungs....so the immediate concern was the development of his lungs. I happen to work for the HealthCare System who Children's belongs to, BJC Healthcare and Children's hospital is where 95% of the projects I oversee are located. So I was able to visit Max quite a bit.
Over the days and weeks he made great strides and suffered setbacks....coded a few times....but, nothing that happened to him caught his Drs off guard. He was pretty much a 'by the book' premie where all his issues were 'typical' and treated successfully. He had a PDA Ligation performed on his heart to repair a pin sized hole in his heart....performed bedside I might add, that's amazing in itself...and he had laser eye surgery at 15 Weeks to repair some vessels in the back of his eyes.
After 23 Weeks, 1 Day....my nephew.....Maximus Miller......who the Nursing staff and Drs nicknamed "Mighty" Max......he was released to my brother and sister in law to go home. He still has some oxygen support...which they think he'll need for at least a year to help his lungs keep strengthening and his vision is a point of concern but has checked out to this point.
Now I am a man of faith and prayed heavily and still do for this little guy. But that being said, the level of professionalism, intellect and pride the men and women who cared for him displayed is awe inspiring.
When something like this happens close to you...you tend to reflect and realize just how precious life is. And if you have kids....it makes you realize how lucky you are to have healthy kiddos.
Here are some pics of "Mighty" Maximus Miller
2 Days Old:
16 Days Old, my Brother and Sister in Law got to hold him for the first time
Max 'wearing' my brothers Wedding ring as a bracelet (around 17 Weeks)
Footprints. Green is 1 Week, (notice the quarter) Red is 4 Months
Mighty Max!
My sis in law and Max
Around 7 Weeks Old
2 Weeks / 22 Weeks
And here is Mighty Max in a pic taken today by my sister in law