Although it may be hard to imagine by looking at the young man he is today, the world weighing only three pounds, twelve ounces. He was premature and stayed in the NICU for eleven days during which he was fed through tubes.

AThe nurses and doctors were a blessing to Corey's family as they cared for him and kept the family constantly informed. Dorothy and George Kinard, Corey's grand-aunt and -uncle who have raised him, are especially grateful for the contributions of Charlotte Green, primary care nurse, and Catherine Ingram, environmental service worker. They advise families of children in the NICU to "ask lots of questions, visit daily and participate in your child's care." And to the staff, they say, "keep up the good work and continue to bless other families."

Today Corey is a healthy, friendly young man who enjoys playing baseball and football, and being in the ROTC.

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Mariah was born two months early and then spent three and a half months in the NICU where she received respiratory therapy.

Mom Teresa Ray is a Shands employee, but even she was surprised by how supportive the NICU staff was, "I thought the NICU was an unemotional...strictly business unit. I was so wrong." The nurses and doctors greeted her immediately as she entered the unit and helped her prepare for her first meeting with her daughter. "They escorted me to where she was, gave me a chair to sit in and someone from their staff stayed with me the entire visit to answer my questions. This happened every time I came to visit her. Someone was always available to give me an update." She singles out equipment tech Jackie Barrett and nurse Jean Houy as being especially helpful in "keeping me informed and, most of all, calm."

These days, Mariah exercises her healthy teenage lungs by talking on the phone, much like any other girl her age. She also enjoys reading and travel.

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At twenty-six weeks gestation, Kylee entered the world weighing just thirteen and a half ounces. "When they brought her out, she was in the isolette, covered in oil to moisten her skin," her father, Glenn Kerce remembers. "She was a little bigger than a coke can."

What Kylee did not have in size, she made up for in spirit. Kerce says his baby girl was born kicking and screaming. "I could tell right away her personality-- she's a fighter," he said.

That inner strength helped Kylee beat the odds. She is the smallest baby that has survived in Shands Jacksonville's NICU and it is believed that Kylee is the third-smallest baby in North America to live.

The Kerces were constantly at Kylee's side for the four months she spent in a special incubator before finally going home. Kylee has some permanent lung damage, but mom Jamie says doctors don't expect any serious long-term effects from her premature birth.

Today Kylee is a spirited little girl who loves the outdoors, animals, and especially her family. She lives the life of a normal two year old. She gets some speech therapy to help her pronounce words correctly. The little lung damage she sustained has not held her back at all. She has not been back in the hospital since she was released. She still is small for her age but with her attitude and spunk, her family believes she will be just fine

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"For reasons only God knows, my son was ready to come in to the world at six months into my pregnancy. His twin sister had no choice but to follow." This is how mom Dawn Lopez Burgess describes the beginning of their family's "emotional roller coaster" ride otherwise known as the NICU. Devany and DeAllen, known as "Dwight," spent two and three months, respectively, at Shands where Dwight underwent multiple surgeries for his vision and intestines.

The staff performed what their parents consider to be daily miracles on the twins during their stay. "Dr. Garrison," says Lopez, "would call on his days off to give us updates that needed explanation. He was devoted to each child and I appreciated his attention to my children. The nurses were extraordinary. Especially Liz Strickland, JoEllen Baxley and Carrie Mendia – there are so many I don't want to leave anyone out." She and her husband DeAllen Burgess thank, "each and every member of the NICU during our stay. They were helpful, encouraging and entertained our every question…We needed to lean on you, we needed glimmers of hope. Thank you for the hard work you do. You're true Miracle Workers. Thank you for allowing God to use you."

For the parents of NICU patients, she offers this perspective, "NICU was a world few will ever know. Every day was a blessed miracle but some were much harder than others. Keep your mind from going ‘tilt', by focusing on success stories. For every negative, I always found a positive."

As living testaments to that positive attitude, Devany and Dwight survived and today are "doing incredibly well." Dwight wears glasses, and colds can be rough, but they are helped by breathing treatments. Both brother and sister love books. Their parents spend hours reading with them. Dwight also is fond of music and anything to do with Dora, Diego or the Veggie Tale characters. Devany defies her unusual beginning by favoring the most usual little girl interests: dressing up in her mother's things and playing outdoors.

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At eight and a half pounds and full term, Preben was born a seemingly healthy baby. Soon after birth, he unexpectedly experienced distress. He was transferred to the Shands NICU when he was less than one day old. He was suffering from respiratory distress syndrome and was placed on a ventilator.

Because his birth was a caesarean section at another hospital, mom Biba Olsen was not initially able to visit her son. She was kept informed by telephone conversations with the staff who she described as "available and supportive." She was finally able to be at Preben's side toward the end of his five day stay.

His family feels fortunate that they were living in a community with a facility like Shands in 1985. At that time, the only other Level Three NICU in Florida was in Miami.

Today, Preben is a healthy young man. He is studying business at Auburn University. His other interests include playing the bass guitar, skeet shooting and wake boarding.

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"Tight as a knot" is how Michelle Regulacion describes her kids today, "but at the same time they have their own personalities." The bond she describes began in the womb and may have helped these four miracles to survive after being born under two pounds each and after only twenty-seven weeks gestation.

While today they enjoy singing, dancing, cheerleading and football, and all four are honor roll students, their first months of life were spent in the NICU at Shands.

Issabella came down with spinal meningitis at two weeks. Her parents credit "Dr. Garrison and the rest of the staff (who) worked around the clock using their knowledge and experience to save her life."

Madison's biggest challenge was her underdeveloped lungs. She was kept on a ventilator for the first four weeks. Three times she was taken off and her lungs would collapse.

Hannah was "a fighter through the whole thing." She especially benefited from the loving care she received from her primary nurse, Christy. "Everything she did for Hannah was out of love and not just a job for her. She was very sincere."

Hannah and Elijah were the first to go home, on Valentine's Day, 2000. Elijah was the healthiest of the four. He never required intubation and "just stayed there to grow."

Michelle and dad Rey Regulacion are thrilled to have four healthy six-year-olds today. They congratulate the entire staff of the NICU for the effort and compassion that the quads received, especially from the primary nurses, doctors and respiratory therapist.

"It is because of the people at Shands NICU and God's grace that (our) children are healthy and thriving today."

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Reenard was rushed to Shands Jacksonville for emergency surgery after being born at another hospital. He was suffering from necrotizing entercolitis, a blockage ofthe large intestines which caused his intestines to become infected and break. He remained at Shands in the NICU for four months afterward.

Mom Doreen Bevans-Spence describes her experience at Shands as "great considering the circumstances. At times it was scary but the staff was very good at consoling and putting things into perspective." She has particular gratitude for Dr. Garrison and nurse Beverly Baker who worked on the night shift for their hard work and encouragement "at a time when everything seems so dark." Beverly gave Reenard the nickname "Ree-Ree" which has stayed with him ever since.

Nine years later, Reenard is a creative and warm boy with an infectious smile. He loves reading, creative writing, watching televsion and listening to music. He also enjoys playing with his brother and sister. His health is good. Doreen says, "after all we have been through, it's nothing I can't handle."

For the families of NICU patients, she offers this advice, "Keep the faith, never give up. Because once there is life there is hope. Just continue praying and hang in there."

To the staff, she says, "Thank you and keep up the good work." She is forever grateful for what they have done for her family.

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David Robert Watt and Bruce Allen Watt were brought into this world at only twenty-eight weeks. We had heard that Shands was the best in the area, and insisted that our twin boys be delivered here so they would have the best care and chance of survival. David weighed two pounds, ten ounces at birth and Bruce weighed only one pound, twelve ounces. They were barely as long as a ruler, at twelve inches.

David was in the NICU for a total of ten weeks and Bruce for twelve weeks and the entire experience felt like a roller coaster ride. They were both on and off of a ventilator for the first weeks of their life and fed through a tube in their stomachs for six weeks since they were too little to have a sucking reflex to eat. David seemed to relax when his head was touched or we put one of our fingers in his tiny hand, however if we tried to even slightly touch Bruce, it would stress him out and his oxygen and blood pressure monitors would go off. Bruce got pneumonia twice, was quarantined, and Mom even walked in one time when they were trying to resuscitate him. We could not even hold either of our babies for the first seven weeks of their lives.

The emotions of joy the moment one of the children peacefully opened his eyes would be followed by panic at the slightest hint of trouble or sounds from the monitors. Lack of control and helplessness were feelings that were both powerful and frustrating to both Mom and Dad. However, the nurses were always caring, understanding, and willing to make our time at Shands as comfortable as possible. They were thorough in their explanation of what the child was experiencing, but would also have us realize that one good day could be followed by a few bad days.

We feel blessed to have had the care from the doctors and nurses at Shands Jacksonville, along with modern medicine, to give our boys a chance at life. Today, they are healthy. Although both had some slight developmental delays and minor surgeries due to their prematurity, today they are beginning to read, enjoy doing puzzles, play with space toys, dinosaurs, and legos, and are beginning to swim and play baseball. They are happy boys who are loved by all.

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