St. Luke’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit reunion unites former patients, staff for first time in 5 years

Cedar Rapids — After going to the emergency room at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital for severe head and side pain, a pregnant Paige Eastburn and her unborn son were launched into a fight for their lives.

The March 2005 visit started with a preeclampsia diagnosis — persistently high blood pressure during pregnancy — and prompted an emergency cesarean section about three months before Landen was due to be delivered.

It wasn’t until two days later that she was able to see her newborn.

“They gave us a Beanie Baby and said ‘this is the size of your new baby boy,’ ” Paige said. “He was just a little bit smaller than that.”

At 13 ounces, Landen was St. Luke’s tiniest surviving baby and the 52nd smallest infant to survive in the world, according to The Tiniest Babies Registry. As she was wheeled into his room for the first time, Paige remembers the details at first sight — the visible veins, the dark complexion, and the machines working hard to help a baby about the size of a soda can breathing.

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His odds of survival were 2 percent. Landen spent just over four months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and was hospitalized 27 times during the first five years of his life.

But today, the 19-year-old is all grown up, incomparable to the size of any household objects.

“You take two steps forward and one step back. That was the motto of our life for that time,” Paige said. “We knew our God could perform a miracle. That’s what we asked for, and that’s what we got.”

But all these years later, God isn’t the only one the family remembers to thank. At each NICU reunion, former patients and their families are reminded of the providers who helped them get through months of what can be agony — one day at a time.

When Landen reached 1 pound, the staff decorated his door. Later, they made a poster, a scrapbook, and clay handprints for Mother’s Day. When Landen was ready to go home, one nurse made a quilt with all his earliest milestones.

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“They celebrated everything,” Paige said. “The impact it’s had is that you don’t take anything for granted. You celebrate the small victories.”

Today, most of those nurses are retired. But the Eastburns attend every reunion they can. This year, they plan to go back on Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, to see them again as the reunion returns from pandemic interruptions for the first time in five years.

Then, Landen struck awe with his size. Now, he inspires awe by being the young man he’s grown into.

‘A NICU stay never leaves you’

Paige didn’t necessarily expect a complicated pregnancy — and most mothers in the NICU don’t plan to be there, either, providers say.

“It can feel very powerless. In those first few days, unfortunately, there isn’t a lot they can physically do for their baby,” said Jennie Montgomery, an advanced practice nurse who has served in St. Luke’s Hospital’s NICU unit for the last 14 years. “One of the most common questions parents ask in the NICU is ‘How long will we be here?’ ”

With little control over what happens, a NICU experience can be traumatic, said NICU physician assistant Maureen McCormick.

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“As a parent of a newborn, you are supposed to be the one caring for your baby, making decisions for them and protecting them,” she said. “In the NICU, you are forced to take a step back and allow others to care for your baby. It’s excruciating to submit to that.”

The team provides constant contact, serves as a stream of information and stays involved in holistic care as much as possible.

Sometimes, helping parents feel empowered is as simple as helping them change a diaper. Other times, it’s the non-medical gestures that mean the most: offering a listening ear, reassuring update or a hug in the hallway.

In ways good and bad, McCormick knows that “a NICU stay never leaves you,” honing resilience and strength along the way.

The day-to-day doesn’t stop at home when a newborn is in the hospital, either. Families juggle work and their other children, in addition to daily NICU visits for weeks or months on end.

Dyersville mom Emma Leuchs said the experience of caring for triplets in the NICU started to hit home when one child could come home, but the other two couldn’t.

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After her children were born 10 weeks early, she remembers staff for their simple but impactful thoughtfulness. For a couple months, they drove back and forth from home — a 56-mile drive — to keep an eye on the trio.

“A couple providers made it a point to ask me how I was feeling, and that was impactful,” she said. “It wasn’t just about the babies, but wanting to take care of the family too.”

The first weeks were difficult because she couldn’t hold Madelyn, Reid and Adriana after they were born in early 2020. It came with a heaviness that was “uncontrolled” as the parents and staff worked to manage feeding, respiratory regulation and getting them stable enough to feed them from a bottle at home.

But even after two parents learned how to juggle three children at home, the unique emotions didn’t stop.

“The biggest challenge was learning how to be there for each child as an individual. My husband and I were outnumbered,” she said.

They plan to return the favor imparted to their family by thanking staff at the NICU this weekend at their first reunion. A nurse herself, Leuchs said the NICU staff is more impactful and appreciated than they may realize.

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With a deep bond created by the experience, McCormick said it’s hard to see families go. The reunion offers opportunities to stay connected.

“To hug a mom or dad that survived the NICU and to see their child grow is the most rewarding part of my job,” she said. “Families will usually express gratitude for the care their child received and the support that was provided to them. I, in turn, offer my gratitude, as it is an immense honor to be a part of these babies’ lives and their story.”

Comments: Features reporter Elijah Decious can be reached at (319) 398-8340 or elijah.decious@thegazette.com.