Carson, our rainbow baby was born six weeks early at Grant Medical Center due to medical conditions that put me his mother and him in danger. He was immediately sent to their NICU which is a branch of Nationwide Children’s Hospital due to low oxygen saturation. After a portable chest x-ray and lab work it was determined that Carson was in respiratory distress with pneumonia and he had jaundice. After a traumatic birth I wasn’t able to meet my son until almost 24 hours after he was born. I have a medical background but nothing prepares you for a NICU experience. He was in a covered isolet because he couldn’t hold his temperature, he had a nasal cannula because his oxygen saturation would not hold without it, an IV line in his tiny elbow giving him fluids and antibiotics, and cardiac wires monitoring his heart. Nothing I learned in Radiologic Technology school prepared me for this. I had delt with patients connected to everything Carson was connected to but I was not prepared for my own son to need this type of medical care. Carson’s nurses made this entire experience easier for me and my husband. We were first time parents and scared. The nurses taught us how to bathe him, feed him with a bottle and they even helped me learn to breastfeed, burp him, and keep him comfortable. The nurses even made sure I was taking care of myself after major surgery. We were told to expect Carson to live in the NICU for 6 weeks possibly more. After suffering a miscarriage that broke us we were heart broken that our next baby was born too early because of my medical issues. The medical staff did everything in their power to make us comfortable and help our baby heal to the point of a full term baby. One of the nurses even gave us a homemade pumpkin knitted skull cap to keep him warm. After a six day scary stay and spending one night without our baby we were given the best news. Carson was no long in respiratory distress and we could take him home. Without the constant consistent care from the medical staff at the Children’s Hospital NICU Carson leaving the NICU much earlier than projected would have never happened. I still have Carson’s pumpkin hat in a memory box and we will never forget the staff that helped our baby be the healthy boy he is now. Whenever someone asks about medical care for their child, my only answer is Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

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• Name: Carson F.Carson Fatula
• Condition(s): Prematurity
• Age Today: 10/09/20158 Years

Carson, our rainbow baby was born six weeks early at Grant Medical Center due to medical conditions that put me his mother and him in danger. He was immediately sent to their NICU which is a branch of Nationwide Children’s Hospital due to low oxygen saturation. After a portable chest x-ray and lab work it was determined that Carson was in respiratory distress with pneumonia and he had jaundice. After a traumatic birth I wasn’t able to meet my son until almost 24 hours after he was born. I have a medical background but nothing prepares you for a NICU experience. He was in a covered isolet because he couldn’t hold his temperature, he had a nasal cannula because his oxygen saturation would not hold without it, an IV line in his tiny elbow giving him fluids and antibiotics, and cardiac wires monitoring his heart. Nothing I learned in Radiologic Technology school prepared me for this. I had delt with patients connected to everything Carson was connected to but I was not prepared for my own son to need this type of medical care. Carson’s nurses made this entire experience easier for me and my husband. We were first time parents and scared. The nurses taught us how to bathe him, feed him with a bottle and they even helped me learn to breastfeed, burp him, and keep him comfortable. The nurses even made sure I was taking care of myself after major surgery. We were told to expect Carson to live in the NICU for 6 weeks possibly more. After suffering a miscarriage that broke us we were heart broken that our next baby was born too early because of my medical issues. The medical staff did everything in their power to make us comfortable and help our baby heal to the point of a full term baby. One of the nurses even gave us a homemade pumpkin knitted skull cap to keep him warm. After a six day scary stay and spending one night without our baby we were given the best news. Carson was no long in respiratory distress and we could take him home. Without the constant consistent care from the medical staff at the Children’s Hospital NICU Carson leaving the NICU much earlier than projected would have never happened. I still have Carson’s pumpkin hat in a memory box and we will never forget the staff that helped our baby be the healthy boy he is now. Whenever someone asks about medical care for their child, my only answer is Nationwide Children’s Hospital.