Dana Jackman was scared her daughter Lone wouldn’t make it after being born at just 31 weeks.
But her saving grace was the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) – and its staff – at Victoria General Hospital.
Jackman was not physically able to carry her daughter due to cervical insufficiency. She was scared she’d have to face another loss after delivering twins at 20 weeks old who later died.
“A few months after they passed, I fell pregnant with this girl and we tried everything we could to keep her in, but she was not going to do it,” Jackman said smiling at the little girl in her arms. “I went into labour and we had her. We spent 32 whole days in NICU, which was a very long time.”
Attending this year’s 36th reunion on Thursday (Aug. 10) to celebrate the work of the NICU, Jackman expressed her overwhelming gratefulness.
“I could have not ever, ever imagined going through what I did without the support of the doctors here and nurses,” she said. “They were a second family when we basically had no one. They definitely came through for us and we’re lucky she thrives in a way that we would have never imagined.”
Jackman calls her daughter a “miracle baby.”
“You walk into the NICU and it’s very scary. You don’t know what is going to happen, if your child is going to die or going to end up sick or severely disabled. It’s something I worried about every day with her, but she thrived.”
Families enjoyed food, refreshments, face-painting and princesses at the event to celebrate the medical marvel of the unit. Hospital staff enjoyed the event and seeing the babies that have graduated from the NICU program.
“It’s a privilege to be at someone’s delivery, it’s a privilege to be part of their journey,” said Lisa Roe, clinical nurse lead for the NICU, who’s worked in the sector for 26 years. “Everyone’s journey, whether they’re 23, 24 weeks old, or whenever they’re prematurely born in NICU care, everyone’s journey is so different. Just being allowed to be a part of that journey and to teach them things that I’ve learned over the years to support their babies, it’s amazing.”
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