Journey Ossenkopp weighed little more than a pound when she was born 24 weeks into gestation. Now eight months old, she is heading home on Monday after overcoming a string of serious complications tied to her premature birth.
Journey was diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia because her lungs were not fully developed at birth, according to News12 Hudson Valley. She was also diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus, a congenital heart condition in which an artery does not close at birth, the station reports. Journey initially needed a high-flow nasal cannula to breathe but has since been weaned to room air, though she still requires an NG tube to ensure she receives the nutrition she needs.
A Heart Condition Common Among the Tiniest Preemies
Patent ductus arteriosus happens when a blood vessel that is supposed to close after birth does not, and premature infants are far more likely to have it, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The condition shows up in roughly 90 percent of babies born earlier than 24 weeks of pregnancy, the clinic notes. PDA sometimes resolves on its own, and when it doesn't, doctors can treat it with medication, catheterization or surgery, per the same source.
Before Journey could go home, her parents, Jesse and Danaies, went through training to care for her complex medical needs, the station reports. That preparation came through Blythedale Children's Hospital's Parent and Family Education Program, which the hospital says exists because providing extensive support and training to a child's parents and caregivers prior to discharge is essential. Training through that program can include instruction on nasogastric tube insertion, management and care, as well as handling portable ventilators and oxygen equipment, according to Blythedale Children's Hospital.
Other Families Have Walked the Same Road
Journey's homecoming arrives during Prematurity Awareness Month, which falls in November. Blythedale has used the occasion to mark the progress of several other children born extremely prematurely. Alexander, also born at 24 weeks, faced what the hospital called extraordinary, life-threatening challenges after needing breathing support for underdeveloped lungs.
Greyson Butler was likewise born at 24 weeks and weighed little more than a pound, spending 16 months at Blythedale before his parents were trained to safely operate machines for his ventilator and tracheostomy, per ABC7 New York's account. Another infant, Calliope, was born even earlier, at 22 weeks and 3 days, and spent her first 362 days in a hospital before going home in May, according to ABC News. Calliope weighed less than a pound at birth and continued feeding, occupational and physical therapy before her discharge from Blythedale, the outlet reported.
A third case, Connor Florio, was born at 26 weeks weighing just 11 ounces, KFOR reported. He was admitted to Blythedale once stable at 6.6 pounds and went home weighing nearly 11 pounds after occupational, physical and feeding therapy. Blythedale has also pointed to a persistent shortage of home-care nurses trained to look after medically complex children as an ongoing challenge for families navigating this kind of discharge.
Nurse educators and respiratory therapists at the hospital work alongside families from the time a child is admitted through the day they leave, according to Blythedale. For Journey's family, that work culminates Monday, as she leaves the hospital setting that has defined the first eight months of her life for home.
