By Greg Nikkel
James and Malia Brackpool and family were able to spend a happy Christmas together after a stress-filled pregnancy and 72 days for baby Ben in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Regina General Hospital.
The Weyburn couple will be sharing their story at the annual Z99 Radiothon in March for the NICU, as they will help raise funds in support of the facility that helped keep their baby boy alive and to grow until he was large enough and healthy enough to go home with his family.
Their journey began during Malia’s pregnancy, as doctors discovered that her baby had implanted in a rare ectopic pregnancy, in the scar tissue from a previous C-section, and they recommended that she terminate the pregnancy. The doctors were concerned that this baby could rupture her uterus and she could bleed to death.
“I wanted to be there for my other two children, but I just could not make that decision to end this little life. After doing some research and crying out to God, telling him I would not make the decision to end this little life, I asked the doctors if I could see how far I could get. They agreed and kept a close eye on things, but warned me about the dangers and said I would probably need a hysterectomy and I could bleed into other organs,” said Malia.
Her pregnancy proceeded well, other than a scare at 15 weeks when her placenta had a clot, “which was apparently a common thing that happens, but I thought I was dying. I was released that night,” she said, and she made it until the 28th week, when her water broke on Aug. 22.
She was taken to the hospital in Regina, and she began to hemorrhage as her uterus had ruptured. Malia nearly died that night, as doctors transfused blood and clots developed in her lungs, and her kidneys weren’t functioning properly. Baby Ben was born via an emergency C-section, and he was put under the care of the NICU.
At first, he was doing well, but then one of his lungs collapsed, and a chest tube was used to inflate it. He started to recover but then caught pneumonia and needed to be intubated again. Ben also had a large duct in his heart, and he had a small bleed on his brain.
He fought hard for his life while Malia also recovered from her ordeal. “I worked really hard at pushing myself to get better so I could see my baby. … Finally after five days, I got to see him for the first time. At nine days I got to hold him for the first time.”
Malia remembered Ben showing the NICU staff he no longer needed the oxygen tube by ripping it out himself.
By six weeks after birth, on Oct. 3, he weighed 4.5 pounds, and a week later his weight increased to five pounds, which was at 35 weeks gestation. By Oct. 19, he was well enough that he was moved out of NICU to a special care nursery, and he weighed six pounds by Oct. 25.
When he reached seven pounds by Nov. 5 he was finally deemed healthy enough that he could go home with his family, after he spent a total of 72 days in the NICU.
“After being away from my family and the whole ordeal we went through, it was such a great feeling to be able to put his little outfit on, pack him up and take him home,” said Malia.
Ben is growing and is doing well, although he has a weak immune system and chronic lung disease, but doctors expect he will develop all new lung tissue by the time he’s two years old, and his health should improve as he grows up. His older siblings are son Noah, seven, and daughter Natalie, five.
“Ben is currently 11 pounds and is doing very well. He’s smiling and babbling a lot and will have future appointments to track his progress. He’s two months adjusted and so far on track for what a typical two-month-old would be doing,” Malia said.
While he was born on Aug. 22, his due date was Nov. 15, so he is two months old, adjusted according to his due date.
“If it weren’t for the team of NICU angels, as I like to call them, we wouldn’t have our beautiful baby boy here with us today. It was a very lonely journey and the nurses were so amazing and supportive through the entire time we were there. I can’t say thank you enough for the care we received,” said Malia.
Ben was just one of 500 vulnerable babies whose lives depend on the NICU every year. With the support of the community and fundraisers like the Radiothon, the Hospitals of Regina Foundation ensures the best technology and equipment is available to help the children in the unit.
