HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — This year marks 20 years for Miracle Bash benefiting the Melissa George Neonatal Memorial Fund at Huntsville Hospital.
News 19’s Tamika Alexander spoke with the staff at the NICU to see what their needs are for this year’s event.
“You don’t realize how something so small is so helpful,” said Jessica Lynn, who is a nurse at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children.
The NICU at the hospital has changed since last year’s Miracle Bash, thanks to the public answering the call for 80 syringe pumps.
“It’s really nice to have something that we can say, this belongs to this baby during this baby’s stay,” Lynn said.
The syringe pumps are stationed at each of the baby’s bedside. Meaning they no longer have to share, which is something they had to do in the past. The pumps arrived in the spring and have been a lifesaver for newborns who are too tiny to take a bottle.
“Right now we have about 86 babies on the unit,” said Nichole Davidson, who is the unit director at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children. “Having those syringe pumps has helped us to be able to feed the babies appropriately.”
The pumps are used in place of a bottle. The milk goes through a little feeding tube into another tube that sits in the baby’s stomach.
“Having the syringe pumps gives us the opportunity to feed the babies, continuously and around the clock,” Davidson said. “It also gives us the opportunities for the moms to hold the babies while they’re eating so that even though they may not be taking a bottle, they still get that bonding time to kangaroo care and do that skin-to-skin while the baby’s getting their food.”
One of the babies benefiting from the special devices is Armelia, who was just 15 ounces when she was born on Labor Day. Now, to put that in perspective, 15 ounces is about the size of a water bottle.
“She was born on September 2,” said Anastassia Kidd, who is Armelia’s mom. “She wasn’t supposed to be here until December. So, she was a pleasant surprise. She’s a feisty one. She’s a joy to be around. And we’re happy to have her.”
Armelia has been thriving in the NICU thanks to the syringe pumps. At last check, she was 10 pounds 2 ounces. And that’s not the only milestone she’s hit!
“Everybody here plays an important role in her development and milestones and stuff like that,” said Kidd. “Like our first stroller ride. We all took her outside for her first stroller ride and when she ate baby food, we all gathered around for that.”
For the past 20 years, proceeds from Miracle Bash have supported equipment in the NICU, and this year is no different.
“The big ask this year is more beds to help support the growth of our unit as well as respiratory equipment so that we can continue to provide the respiratory needs, the breathing needs for all of our infants,” Davidson said.
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