Danielle Durham holds her 1-year-old son, Nathan, who spent the first year of his life in the hospital after he was born at 26 weeks gestation. (photo by Daniel Dubois)
After a year in the NICU, baby finally heads home
A crib with a decor of cars, trucks, trains and planes has sat empty for a year in Danielle and Nathan Durham’s house in Hopkinsville, Ky. A fresh changing table piled with baby products waits for a baby to be cleaned; a vacant high chair is set to feed the hungry cries of an infant.
But the Durhams were uncertain if they would ever get to use those items, or if the tiny occupant they were meant for would ever be able to come home.
Their son, Nathan Cleve Durham Jr., was born prematurely at 26 weeks gestation on Oct. 20, 2010. He weighed 1 pound 3 ounces and was a little more than 11 inches tall. His lungs had not matured and his paper-thin skin was translucent. The couple couldn’t hold him. His chance for survival was slim.
Just over a year later, on Monday, Oct. 31, Nathan finally got to leave the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt to go home with his family. In the end, he was the oldest and largest infant in the NICU, weighing a healthy 19 pounds, 8 ounces — a milestone no one was sure he’d reach.
“It’s really scary in the beginning; you think you’re going to break him when you touch him because they let you do his care,” said Danielle Durham. “The odds weren’t good early on.”
Nathan was Danielle’s second pregnancy. She had been pregnant once before, but her baby girl, Violet Amethyst Durham, was delivered stillborn seven months into pregnancy. Both times she had a blood clot in the placenta – the first time, one-third the size of the placenta, and the second, half the size.
When she became pregnant with Nathan, she saw a specialist in Kentucky for high-risk pregnancies who monitored her week to week. At 26 weeks, Nathan’s movement had slowed. She was sent to Nashville where doctors delivered him via cesarean section. After birth, doctors discovered the blood clot.
Brian Carter, M.D., left, examines Nathan Durham Jr. while his parents, Nathan and Danielle, look on during a follow-up visit at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. (photo by Daniel Dubois)
“I was happy he was alive,” Danielle said. “I was happy we got to Nashville, that things had worked out as far as that was concerned.”
“Doctors told me they had had successful outcomes with babies born at 26 weeks, and had even had success with a baby born at 23 weeks.”
Nathan was transferred from another local hospital to Children’s Hospital in April because he needed a tracheostomy tube to help him breathe.
“I really liked that this hospital is specifically for children,” she said. “I love my primary nurses, and I like that they check out everything. It makes me feel better about going home so there shouldn’t be any surprises.”
Nathan still has a breathing tube, which he will use until about age 3, and he receives much of his nutrition from a feeding tube so he doesn’t aspirate liquids. Of the baby food he eats, bananas are his favorite.
He is thriving. His clothing size is 18 months and he’s ready for a larger car seat. His face lights up with a smile, revealing three teeth, when people talk to him. His chubby legs kick excitedly as he grabs for the colorful, jingly toys above his head. He’s come a long way.
“I’ve watched him get bigger, get stronger,” said Danielle Durham. “I am so happy he’s doing well, and happy he gets to go home.”