Vim & Vigor - Spring 2012 - North Mississippi - (Page 8)

Little Ones Kemariah Roby made a surprise appearance on April 7, 2011. Her mother, Nikki, wasn’t expecting the baby girl until July 31, but that spring morning, Nikki’s water broke, contractions started and there was no stopping Kemariah. She was born at North Mississippi Medical Center–West Point, weighing 1 pound, 6 ounces. Because she was so premature, Kemariah’s lungs weren’t fully developed and her condition was very fragile. Within the hour, the neonatal transport team came on Carexpress to take Kemariah to the NMMC Women’s Hospital in Tupelo. There, board-certified neonatologists and specially trained nurses, respiratory therapists and pharmacists handle the extensive problems encountered by premature or critically ill newborns. for the The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at NMMC is equipped to care for even the most high-risk births Nikki often stayed in Kemariah’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit room, and the staff taught her about caring for her little one. “They taught me a lot,” Nikki says, including how to feed an infant who has trouble breathing and eating at the same time. A SpeciAl Girl On June 8, Kemariah became only the second baby to undergo a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) ligation at Women’s Hospital. “The PDA is a connection between the heart’s two major blood vessels, the pulmonary artery that takes blood from the heart to the lungs, and the aorta that takes blood from the heart to the body,” explains neonatologist Bryan Darling, M.D. “It usually closes after birth, but often in premature babies it doesn’t close or it reopens.” Left open, blood floods the pulmonary artery. The extra blood flow to the lung will compromise the baby’s lung function, leading to increased ventilator support. The longer a baby is on the ventilator, the more damage the lung sustains. “We first treat the condition with medication, and that works in about 75 percent of cases,” Darling says. “But in those that don’t respond or reopen, the ductus has to be surgically closed.” The procedure was done in Kemariah’s NICU room by Steve Goldberg, M.D., a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon with Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis. “Transporting fragile infants puts them at risk. It’s better to keep them in the nursery where the staff knows them best,” Darling says. “It’s also nice that the family doesn’t have to travel out of town for a few days while this is done.” Baby Kemariah is growing stronger every day. cAll The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at NMMC Women’s Hospital treats sick newborns from throughout the region, whether they are born at the Women’s Hospital or transferred from hospitals in outlying communities. For more information about services available at the NMMC Women’s Hospital, call 800-THE DESK (800-843-3375) or visit www.nmhs.net/womens_hospital.php. Oh, Baby! 8 Vim & Vigor • SP R I N G 2 012 http://www.nmhs.net/womens_hospital.php

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Spring 2012 - North Mississippi

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2012 - North Mississippi
Opening Thoughts
Building Healthier Hearts
Young at Heart
Caring for the Little Ones
Get Real
How Far We’ve Come
Patient Survival Guide
Perfect Attendance
Jennifer Hudson, Grammy-winning recording artist
Lean on Me
Intimidated by the Gym?
What Is Your Volunteer Style?
A Prescription for Relief
Virtual Health
SPECIAL You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby
Get Heart Healthy!
Growing Stronger
The Doctor Will See You Now
Catch the Spirit

Vim & Vigor - Spring 2012 - North Mississippi