The story of my preemie baby girl.

I'll start this by telling you upfront this is not a sad story! The photos below look scary but the worst part of this endeavor was the explanation of benefits we got from our insurance companies! Please enjoy reading, or don't, I'm not your mother. :)

Ellie was born 2-3 weeks early, she was technically a preemie but was 8.5lbs! I think the CPAP made her look like an elephant!

I was at work when my wife told me she thought she was going into labor. I was very skeptical at first as it was far to soon but it quickly became clear that Ellie was ready to come then. The doctors at the hospital said they thought she might be in distress for some reason but we never figured out why (she had a wrapped cord but that was the extent of complications we could see). She took a breath to early though and breathed in some things that don't belong in her lungs (meconium aspiration). After only a few minutes the nurses determined she was having difficulty breathing and they had to put her on a CPAP and check her in to the NICU. This started what would be a week long endeavor and one of the scariest times of my adult life!

A couple days in the NICU and they took Ellie off her CPAP and let us hold her!

The first time I held my daughter was 3 days after she was born and it was wonderful! My wife and I were in and out of the hospital around the clock for feedings and visitation. The nurses in the NICU were some of the most wonderful men and women I have ever met! They are the ever vigilant guardian angels of their precious little patients!

Thank goodness Ellie got her mother's looks right?!

Ellie spent a week in the NICU and the last day we spent at the hospital in a pediatric room with her. That was the first night we spent with our baby girl. Our son (Gray) spent the night with the Grandparents but that was also the first time he got to meet his new little sister!

It was only a matter of time before we started hearing from the insurance companies!

After being home for a few weeks we began to receive the explanation of benefits from our insurance companies. Needless to say they were shocking to say the least. In total between Ellie and her mother we landed somewhere in the mid $40k's range. Fortunately we both carried insurance through our employers and everything ended up being fully covered! The American medical system truly is outrageously expensive!

Ellie is now nearly a year and a half old!

Now that all of this is only a blur of memories, you can't tell that Ellie's first week of life was so traumatic! She is beautiful, happy and full of life! If this had happened 100 years ago things may have been different but thanks to modern medicine this story has a happy ending!

Thank-you so much for reading!
Akuda (Zach)