Simon Says MARCH!
Simon isn't the only preemie in our crew...
Simon's Story
Check out
this guy!
He used to
look like this...
Simon was born on January 5, 2017. Momma was only 26 weeks and 6 days along, but Simon was a whopping 2 pounds, 6 ounces (which was fat for his age). The night he arrived was too scary to recount here, but by midday, Simon was settling into his new room in Neighborhood 1 of the Brigham NICU. He lived there for 95 days.
As far as NICU stays go, Simon's was (thankfully) uneventful. His breathing was always his challenge, not breathing on his own for many weeks. In the beginning, Simon thought it was funny to constantly pull out his breathing tube. His room became a frequent stop for the respiratory therapists. Simon spent his NICU days snuggling with mommy, daddy, and his primary, Judy. At night, primaries Tava and Liz spoiled him with even more love. These three women are actual superheroes. We will spend the rest of our lives trying to thank them for all they do.
For decades, the March of Dimes has fought for healthy moms and babies through research, education, and advocacy. This research, combined with other scientific breakthroughs in caring for premature babies, allows the Brigham to treat nearly 3,000 babies in the NICU each year. If it wasn't for this work, Simon would not be where he is today. He is not only a healthy kid, but he is also a happy, smart, silly guy who loves learning, playing, annoying his brother, snuggling with family and the pups, and keeping us on our toes with his mischievous antics. We love this little boy.
Colby Joseph Basil
Colby is Simon's second cousin and unfortunately, just like his big cuz, Colby was born at just 26 weeks gestational age on May 1, 2020. Colby's mom, Alie, suffered from a rare and life-threatening condition called HELLP Syndrome and removing Colby from the womb immediately was the only way to save both him and his mom. Colby was just 1 lbs 10 oz at his time of birth. Thanks to the doctors at St Thomas Hospital Midtown in Nashville, TN both Colby and Alie survived his arrival into the world.
Click here to learn more about HELLP
In the case of sweet Colby, his first home became bed 40 at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at St Thomas Midtown. Colby spent 77 long days under the watchful care of innovative and caring physicians Drs Papp and Grahman (and others) and his angel nurses Carla, Kimberly, Krista and the many others who rotated in. Colby endured a lot while in the NICU but through it all he was determined to thrive and maintained his gentle, silly self. His impeccable ability to pull out his feeding tubes and nasal cannula weren't always appreciated, but he gave us all a good laugh nonetheless. Of course, we can't tell the story of Colby without mentioning his best friend, Octavio. Octavio was given to Colby on his very first day in the NICU and remains his best bud to this day. At the time, Octavio was larger than Colby, but now as a nine month old, 16 lbs chunkster, Colby towers over his pal. Colby continues to thrive outside of the hospital and we are forever grateful for the unwavering care he received there. Truly, there are no words for how much we adore this little miracle boy of ours.