After having three children with relatively normal pregnancies, Adrienne McKnight and Patrick Nolan had taken for granted that pregnancy number four would be much like their previous children.
When Adrienne’s Braxton Hicks increased in frequency and intensity causing her to bear down, she knew that she was in labour, at only 28 weeks.
In the early morning of July 8, Patrick had woken to his wife clearly in distress. Speaking with 911, Patrick was instructed to get a pillow, shoelace, and towels with the individual on the phone repeating ‘you can do this.’ Luckily, after resigning himself to delivering the child without medical professionals present a firetruck and ambulance arrived. As the team of first responders realized how premature the child was they rushed to Foothills Medical Centre.
The ambulance was able to get Adrienne to the hospital with their baby girl arriving six minutes later.
Their 2.9lb baby was whisked into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where the first three days would be her critical window to understand the situation they were up against. Adrienne and Patrick were able to see their daughter six hours after giving birth but were not able to hold her until the next day given her condition.
In total, she was in the NICU for 61 days, the first month at the Level 3 NICU at Foothills Medical Centre, and then the next month at the Rockyview General Hospital NICU.
For the first month of her life, their baby didn’t have a name, a decision they thought they had several more months to make. After continuing to refer to her as “the baby” they finally settled on her name, Kate.
The number of health complications Kate endured was extensive. She had respiratory distress syndrome and was intubated followed by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and oxygen. Additionally, she suffered a grade two brain bleed with possible side effects to the left side of her body. She was diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity, PDA (hole in her heart), apnea, bradycardia (a slower than normal heart rate), a large umbilical hernia and inguinal hernia that she recently had an operation on.
“I grew numb from the constant barrage of bad news stemming from Kate’s condition, my husband however sustained a much more optimistic perspective,” Adrienne recalls.
As time passed, Kate started to overcome the obstacles that she faced, and the negative news turned more positive. She transitioned from tube feeding to gradually learning to eat on her own. Remarkably, the hole in her heart closed without having to operate and her brain bleed resolved on its own.
“It was different having a preemie, you don’t have that moment of excitement being wheeled to recovery. We were without our baby, not knowing if she was ok.”
Adrienne remembers being wheelchaired post-delivery to the recovery room and a new dad passing by congratulating her. It was a strange moment, acknowledging graciously the kind words from a stranger while at the same time managing her profound grief.
While in the NICU, she felt strength in being with other parents. Despite everyone donning masks, when she made eye contact with another parent, she felt a compassion and understanding for each other that was unspoken. She drew comfort from that, making it feel like they weren’t alone in this journey.
The care Kate and her family received while in the NICU was outstanding. “Everyone knew their role from the moment our baby came into this world. They were ready and prepared for every possible outcome. They were so comforting and reassuring.”
Adrienne felt like the staff tried to get to know her personally and didn’t treat her like she was just a patient. One of the things that stood out was how they tried to involve parents in the care, so they felt like they were part of Kate’s recovery as well.
Kate will be celebrating her fourth birthday in July and is doing very well, holding her own with her three other siblings. Kate and her family have decided to support the Mercedes-Benz NICU Charity Fashion Show, happening on October 5 which benefits all Calgary NICUs. Kate will be part of the NICU graduates fashion show where they get to walk the runway.
“We want to celebrate her and support all the families who have been through this, as well as the families who are going to go through this. We want to try and raise as much money as possible, says Adrienne”
While the outcome of Kate’s NICU stay was favourable, it didn’t come without tremendous concern for Kate every step of the way. To help process the grief, Adrienne reached out to a counsellor and encourages others to do so as well. She knows how many people silently struggle, and she saw many benefits to reaching out for professional advice.
Adrienne is also part of a peer mentor program where she lends a listening ear and shares her experience with other families to help them through what many NICU parents say, is the most difficult time in their lives. She is also a part of the NICU Parent Advisory Council Team providing a family voice on policies, processes and delivery of care. To support families like the McKnight/Nolans’, join us on October 5 at the Mercedes-Benz NICU Charity Fashion Show.
