It’s hard enough to have one baby sick enough to need the newborn intensive care unit (NICU), but some families experience this this again and again – each new baby needing care that goes beyond the labor and delivery unit of their local hospital.
The Quinn family is one that knows this all too well. All three of their babies stayed in Dayton Children’s NICU. And all three would need additional care later in their lives as well.
Camille is 3 years old now, and her little twin siblings, Ryan and Natalie, are almost 1 year old. For all three babies, shortly after birth, their temperatures dropped to around 95 degrees – dangerously low – they simply couldn’t eat enough calories to keep their temperatures up. Each one needed a short stay in the NICU – less than a week for each – before being well enough to go home.
“We had an amazing experience at Dayton Children’s,” says their mom, Cassie. “Camille was our first baby and we really had no idea what we were doing. The nurses in the NICU didn’t just care for her; they helped teach us how to change diapers and how to take care of her. It was like a baby crash course.”
One nurse for the twins made a special impression: “Pauline explained everything so well and made sure we knew everything that was happening with the babies,” says Cassie. “She would stay and chat with us after checking the babies so we weren’t alone. She even watched the babies so I could get dinner and have some ‘me’ time.”
The Quinn’s Dayton Children’s experience wasn’t over with their NICU stay, however. All three children would again need expert pediatric care for unexpected illnesses.
Camille suffered a series of seizures as a baby. Her parents took her to an adult hospital first, but said the emergency room doctor sent them home without answers. “They kind of brushed us off,” recalls Cassie. They persisted and took her to Dayton Children’s next, and this time their doctors took them seriously. “They ran every possible test and were determined to find an answer,” says Cassie.
Camille was diagnosed with a rare disorder called Sandifer syndrome, which is associated with severe gastric reflux. Camille had a severe milk allergy and continued to be treated by Dayton Children’s gastroenterology for several years. Fortunately, Camille is doing great now!
Last February, the kids all contracted a gastrointestinal virus. Just 5 months old at the time, Natalie’s temperature dropped again – all the way down to 93 degrees. She was rushed to Dayton Children’s South emergency department and transported to the main hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). The GI bug had caused a urinary tract infection that turned into sepsis. After a frightening few days, Natalie was well enough to go home with her family.
According to Cassie, one of the biggest benefits to being in a children’s hospital – other than having a care team who specializes in the tiniest patients – was having a child life specialist available. “Even though Natalie was a baby and there wasn’t a lot they could do to entertain her, she was cranky because of the IV lines in both hands. It was helpful just to have another person there with us to help keep her comfortable and distracted.”
While the twins were inpatient, their care team offered holistic care for the whole Quinn family. They were even able to flag the kids for future physical therapy and rehab needs due to their illnesses, and offered treatment to prevent future problems, says Cassie. “We never would have even thought of that.”
Cassie says it means a lot to know that people donate to support babies, kids and teens in the hospital. “It’s not just supporting equipment and buildings – it’s providing the ability for them to have the best doctors and staff, offer activities for kids, specialized therapies and programs,” Cassie says. She says that her workplace partners with Dayton Children’s as a Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals partner, and she not only donates, but advocates for the need to support our local pediatric specialty hospital.
The Quinn family wants everyone to know that supporting babies like theirs is a top priority for this community. They’re sharing their inspiring story during the 27th annual K99.1FM Cares for Kids Radiothon on Friday, Oct. 25. Tune in to listen live from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and hear from NICU families whose lives have been changed by caring supporters like you!
This year, all proceeds from Radiothon will help the tiniest patients who rely on the world-class care team and equipment in the NICU. Support from our Radiothon Miracle Makers will help the hospital purchase new giraffe beds for our babies!
One of the best ways to keep up to date is to subscribe to our Miracles Matter monthly e-newsletter! We’ll send you a monthly email with patient stories, opportunities to get involved with the hospital, exciting news, and more!
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