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WEST JORDAN — Michael Leavitt's 2-year-old son Griffin spent five days in the neonatal intensive care unit because of breathing issues when he was first born.
Leavitt's wife tested positive with COVID-19 shortly after, so they were unable to see their baby during his first few days in the NICU.
"We weren't allowed in there with him until he was released — we didn't get to meet him. That was pretty hard," Leavitt said.
Griffin is doing great, but Leavitt's newborn daughter is now staying in the NICU for some of her own breathing and eating issues. The family, however, got an important reminder Monday at a celebration with other families who have gone through the same experience.
Dozens of families gathered Monday at the Holy Cross Hospital Jordan Valley to celebrate 15 years of babies graduating from its neonatal intensive care unit.
"It's really helpful to see everybody that's got babies here. Just know that this is just a really short amount of time in the grand scheme of things. It makes it a little easier," Leavitt said.
The celebration was a reunion for all families who had babies graduate from the NICU in the last 15 years since the department opened.
The NICU at Jordan Valley serves more than a hundred babies a year. It is the only Level 3 NICU on the west side of Salt Lake Valley, meaning it can support babies born as early as 23 gestation weeks.
Monday's event included carnival games, a petting zoo, a train, a dunk tank and even a baby doll station where the dolls were hooked up to machines, just like babies in the NICU. Nurses and doctors at the hospital reconnected with the babies they helped care for over the years.
"I think it's cathartic for most who have been through a traumatic experience with a family member — especially a brand new baby — who needed really critical care. Anyone who has been through that kind of an event, having a way to reconnect with the people who cared for you during that time is key. It's a give-back. It brings a lot to the heart and souls of the providers too, so the doctors and the nurses love this," hospital CEO Christine McSweeney said.
Parents with babies who have only just barely graduated from the NICU were mingling with parents whose children are now several years old.
"It's fun now that my son is 7 to bring him and show him where he was born and all the nurses that took care of him and just now that he knows more about what he went through and how his journey began," Kirstin Rydalch said.
She gave birth to Cannon at just 27 weeks gestation, and he stayed at the NICU for 125 days. Rydalch said she has kept in touch with a lot of the nurses who helped her son, and gave mothers with children in the NICU her phone number so she could offer support.
"It was a little bit of a roller coaster, but we're seven years later on the other side," she said. "It's just a big community, honestly, all the nurses and families."
Rydalch said for anyone going through the pain of their baby being in the NICU, "just take it a day at a time, a minute at a time."
Nurse manager Lisa Evans said the NICU can be a challenging place as parents deal with milestones and heartaches. So the carnival-like event was meant to be a celebration for all the lives saved and the nurses who helped them.
"We treat the tiniest patients in this hospital. We wanted to celebrate the 15-year reunion as an opportunity for families to come out and show off their young ones that were here," she said. "It's healing, and it's an opportunity for everyone to gather and celebrate seeing these kids again."
Dr. Jennifer Murphy said events like these are great for parents to feel camaraderie with others who have gone through the same challenge. She said it is one of the most stressful times for a parent.
"It's pretty incredible, especially seeing a baby who goes from 24 weeks and fits in the palm of my hand all the way up to these littles here ... running around is just incredible. It's just like a miracle," she said.
She's been a doctor at the Holy Cross NICU for six years and said it was amazing seeing how far the babies have come since their time in the NICU.
"For our families that are currently there (in the NICU), seeing this I think is really cool to see and reflects how much they mean to us and we mean to them in the care of their babies," she said.
Tracy Stephens was a nurse for 35 years, with 15 of the years at the NICU before retiring in May. She was excited to see some of the children she cared for but said she didn't recognize a lot of them since they were so much smaller when she last saw them.
Many parents expect to have a wonderful experience when they're bringing their baby into the world, and it can be very challenging for them when their baby has to stay in the NICU, she said. The nurses try their best to help the parents continue to care for their baby and have some good memories even through the difficulty.
"It's nice to see there is a good turnout, so people did appreciate our care," she said.
Debbie Andrus was a nurse when the NICU opened and said it was incredible the first day babies were wheeled into the NICU. Little did she know, in the next few years she would have two granddaughters and a great-grandson who stayed in the same NICU where she worked.
"I always felt so comfortable because I knew the quality of care they were getting. I knew they would take really good care of my grandbabies," she said.
