A baby, a NICU, a chaplain, and a half-marathon

Every day, thousands of babies are born too soon, too small and often very sick. I got a first-hand view of this last summer as a chaplain in the Maternity Center at Providence Alaska Medical Center. For all the healthy babies born each day, there were a few whose first destination was not mommy's arms, but the newborn intensive care unit (NICU). One of those babies was Elena Rankin, born during the first few weeks of my internship in mid-June at 23 weeks gestation.

I'm running my first half-marathon in Nashville on April 30 in honor of Elena. And I'm raising money for the March of Dimes to help support the thousands of other families who will spend their first few months with their child in a NICU.

My fundraising goal is $2,300, in honor of Elena's age when she was born (23 weeks). (You'll see a status bar on the right-hand side of my blog logging my progress towards that goal.) I'm asking my supporters to make a donation of at least $23 in honor of Elena and the thousands of babies like her in NICUs right now. Your gift will support March of Dimes research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. And it will be used to bring comfort and information to families with a baby in newborn intensive care.

Click here to go to my fundraising page and make a donation.


ELENA'S STORY

Elena's parents, Scott and Christina, have given me permission to share her story with you.

Elena is Scott and Christina's first child. When I first met them, Christina had been admitted to the pre-natal unit at Providence for complications with her pregnancy. She was pregnant with identical twins, but after only a few days in the hospital she lost Elena's sister, Sonja. The doctors did everything they could to keep Elena in the womb as long as possible, but just a little over a week later, she delivered Elena at 23 weeks. (In non-"mommy-speak," that's almost 6 months gestation. Christina's due date was mid-October, but she gave birth in mid-June.) Elena weighed just over a pound when she was born.

Elena the day after her birth

When I first saw Elena in the NICU, she was barely bigger than my hand, and her skin was red and translucent, like pictures I'd seen of fetuses in utero. She was in an incubator and had wires connected all over her body. I watched in awe as she lay there and sort of shuddered as she tried to breathe, with the help of the respirator that covered most of her face. (One of the biggest complications for premature babies is that their lungs have not yet fully developed, so breathing is an issue.)

Elena at 5 days, under the lights in the incubator 

For perspective: Elena's hand beside her father's wedding band

Over the next 10 weeks, I watched a beautiful drama play out in that corner of the hospital. Elena's whole "care team" -- the tireless NICU nurses, the doctors, and my fellow chaplains -- surrounded her and her family with love and support. Elena had her ups and downs; days when she was doing great and days when she'd stop breathing or have a heart "episode." But through it all, the support from the Providence staff was palpable, and I was honored to be a part of that team.

Elena's first family photo with her parents, 8 days after her birth

I followed Elena's family throughout the summer, listening as her parents rode the roller coaster of never knowing what they would find each day when they entered the NICU. I watched them struggle with deciding to go back to work part-time, so they'd be able to take family leave when she actually came home. I watched them come into the NICU, scrubbing down for the requisite two minutes, from elbow to fingers, every morning before work and every afternoon after work. I celebrated with them when Elena gained a pound or when her breathing levels were higher, and I listened when they grieved over the loss of all the "would have beens."

One Sunday afternoon I ran into Christina in the NICU after what had been a particularly rough day: that day was originally supposed to have been her baby shower. NICU moms deal not only with not being able to bring their babies home, but with losing all the joys and celebrations of a "normal" pregnancy. Instead of sitting in a room full of her friends and relatives cooing over her adorable baby gifts and beaming over her impending twin girls' arrival, she was sitting in a sterile hospital room, rubbing one daughter's back through the small opening in the side of the incubator, having just said goodbye to the other daughter at her memorial service.

I developed a long-term relationship with the Rankins over the summer. They were some of the most dedicated parents in the NICU, faithfully visiting, holding, and singing songs and hymns to Elena every day. Being first-time parents, Christina commented to me once that they realized they didn't know a lot of children's songs to sing to her. "We just keep singing 'Jesus Loves Me' and 'Amazing Grace' over and over," she said, somewhat sheepishly. I smiled. "Not bad songs for her to learn from the very beginning of life," I said. Scott and Christina's love for their child was a living icon of Christ's love.

Elena as she looked in late August, at the end of my internship

When I left at the end of the summer, I asked the family if they would be willing to let me continue to follow Elena's progress from afar. They agreed, and I watched via her online Care Page as she grew and progressed over the next few months until finally, in October, just a few days before her original due date, she got to go home! My heart leapt when I signed on to the page that day and saw the report that Elena was discharged, after 116 days in the NICU. It was hard to believe this was the same baby I had watched quiver in the incubator in late June.

Elena in late September, just a few weeks before she went home

Elena is now off all monitors and oxygen and and weighs over 13 pounds! She was recently featured on an Anchorage radio station's Radio-thon to benefit the Children's Miracle Network at Providence Children's Hospital. And in December, she starred in her church's Christmas play as baby Jesus (with mom and dad co-starring as Mary and Joseph)!

The Rankins as The Holy Family

I am truly in awe of the miracle that is this child's life. Please join me in giving thanks and praise to God for her survival and for the blessings she has brought to this family.

And, if you feel so moved, please give to support me in my run in honor of Elena and in support of all families who face similar stories.

Thank you for helping me give all babies a healthy start!

Elena in mid-January, at 7 months

Special thanks to the Rankins for their openness in allowing me to share their story, and for providing the pictures of Elena.