New Jersey NICU patient heads home after 285 days – decades after her mother was born at same hospital
A celebration months in the making unfolded Tuesday for Baby Myla in South Jersey. After spending more than nine months in the neonatal intensive care unit at Virtua Voorhees Hospital, Myla was discharged and headed home with her mother.
"She came at 24 weeks on the dot, she was 1 pound. This was the hardest thing I've ever in my life been through, it's very, very challenging," Myla's mother Chi Obufor said.
Obufor was also born prematurely at the same hospital more than 30 years ago and cared for by some of the same doctors who helped save her daughter's life.
"I was born here 31 years ago by the same doctor, Dr. Goldsmith, so it was an honor for him to also take care of my baby girl as well," Obufor said.
"I took care of mom 30 years ago, and now I'm taking care of mom's baby, so technically that would make her my grand patient," neonatologist Dr. Leonard Goldsmith said.
Myla was born prematurely and faced significant health challenges, including lung disease and a congenital heart defect. Her road to recovery was lengthy and required extreme care.
Myla became such a member of the Virtua NICU family that doctors say there was a line of people on any given day waiting to give her cuddles.
"Two hundred and eighty-five days, that's nine months, and as a mom myself, you know, you think about how much happens in those first nine months, and she had to do all of that here," NICU social worker Kasey Hewitt said.
"She is going home oxygen-free, she is going home without a feeding tube, it's a really big day and an important day in her life, in her family's life and in our lives in the NICU," said Renee Smith, the hospital's NICU nursing director.
Myla left the hospital with all the love and fanfare she deserves. She's a happy, healthy, unforgettable baby who's inspired and touched many.
"I appreciate it so much," Obufor said. "I think it's beautiful to see the amount of love everyone pours into her. Sometimes it overwhelmes me because I'm like, I hope I can give her that amount of love at home."
