Baby defies doctor’s predictions after premature delivery

Defying the grim predictions of medical staff at a neonatal intensive care unit, a baby that was born 7 weeks premature is now happy and healthy celebrating her first year of life.

Emery Patterson, the daughter of Kayla and Acie Patterson, was delivered via cesarean surgery on March 25th, 2020. Emery was delivered early after her mom Kayla was diagnosed with preeclampsia, a potentially dangerous pregnancy complication that’s characterized by high blood pressure.

“I felt like I had a softball in between my stomach and my spine,” Kayla said. “I was seven months pregnant; in a lot of pain, and shouldn’t be in that much pain.”

Kayla’s condition meant that her baby had to be delivered via C section immediately. Since the baby was only 34 weeks old, it meant that she would have to be delivered by specialists at the Presbyterian Hospital NICU in Albuqerque, New Mexico.

As such, she was flown south to be treated at the NICU.

Once there, Kayla’s husband Acie joined her throughout the surgery. Afterwards, though, Acie had to be outside of the hospital for five nights without Kayla since it was the beginning of the Wuhan virus pandemic.

“When I got discharged, from the time I went into the hospital, to the time I came out of the hospital was like a whole new world with all the covid restrictions,” she said.

“Albuquerque was like a ghost town. All the malls. There was nobody on the highway. There was nobody in the parking lots. There was nobody anywhere,” said Kayla.

A family member, Eric Hanson, brought down a camper for them to stay in. Conveniently, the hospital had a place for them to hook it up to water, sewer and electrical utilities.

Ultimately, the camper allowed the Patterson’s to spend as much time with Emery as possible, even while the NICU was only allowing one parent in at a time.

Baby Emery defied the odds with lots of love

What began as a visit that staff predicted would last until the originally-planned due date was finished 4 weeks early. Emery’s success is attributed to the continuous presence, affection and prayers of everyone involved, Kayla said.

Emery Patterson was born at the beginning of the Wuhan virus pandemic.

“Everything that the doctors told us Emery wouldn’t do or that wouldn’t happen–like my breast milk won’t come in for several days or maybe even weeks given the fact that she was so early. Well, my milk came in within 24 hours,” she said.

“That Emery would be in the NICU for a total of seven weeks, we would not be going home any time before her regularly scheduled birth date.” said Kayla. “Anyway, by the grace of God and all the prayers and love and everything we received from everybody here we were out of the NICU in three weeks, got to come home.”

Another pleasant surprise during the medical treatment was Kayla’s ability to provide breast milk, and Emery’s ability to latch on to her.

“She was [originally] taking my milk by a feeding tube because the doctors said she wouldn’t latch and eat properly like a breast-fed child,” said Kayla. “She of course latched immediately and continued to latch every single time I fed her, and she did really well with that.”

Emery exceeded the expectations of doctors in other areas, as well, she said.

“Her mental development has caught up to what it should be. She’s not behind at all in height,” said Kayla. “She’s a little lighter than she would’ve been if she had gone full term. Other than weight, she’s caught up in everything else. Just like any healthy full term one year old, she’s just about starting to walk. She’s crawling, pulling up on everything. Eating regular foods, sleeping well, testing boundaries like babies do. So we’re blessed, we’re very proud of her.”

About the author

Adam Howell is an unaffiliated voter and writer who believes in the importance of upholding the constitution. He can be reached with feedback by clicking on this link to the contact page.