Meet Callan!

At 24 weeks gestation, Callan’s mom Carissa experienced a placental abruption with significant hemorrhaging and preterm labor with no known cause. At their local community hospital, Callan was given a 30% chance of survival if he were to be delivered right then. Stopping her preterm labor was of utmost importance, as they would not have been able to save both her and her unborn baby at that hospital due to the lack of neonatal resources and expertise on-site. They had to ask the question no family wants to hear: “If the worst were to happen, who are we saving?”

Thankfully, labor was able to be stopped and Carissa was emergency transferred to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend, the regional Children’s Miracle Network hospital closest to home with a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) that could care for Callan in the event of an extremely premature birth. Carissa remained on bedrest at RiverBend for 11 more days until Callan was born, still 3.5 months too soon.

Callan was a miracle from his very first moments. Born weighing just 2 pounds, the doctor held him up and he let out a cry and took some breaths on his own (a rare occurrence for babies born this early). The delivery team was able to hold him in front of mom and dad for a moment before the NICU team took over his immediate care and he required a CPAP (continued positive airway pressure) due to respiratory distress. Callan suffered from chronic lung disease due to prematurity, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), swallowing issues, low tone and weakened muscles leaving him at high risk for developmental delay, and GI issues during his 83-day NICU stay. At one point, he needed a ventilator due to aspiration and lung issues, but soon weaned off after just 3 days. But despite it all, he continued to grow and get stronger every day. Callan quickly excelled at learning to eat and breathe on his own and required minimal intervention as his time in the NICU continued.

Thanks to generous donations to the Children’s Miracle Network program, Callan and his family had access to the very best respiratory equipment, specialized neonatal supplies, and the expertise of an incredible NICU team to help him survive and thrive. Callan is just one example of the hundreds of kids living in rural surrounding communities who have access to the critical NICU care at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart because of the generosity of our CMN partners.