On a Saturday just two days following the official start to summer, hundreds of families from across the state reunited with doctors, nurses and other providers from the Elliot Hospital’s Neonatology Intensive Care Unit on June to celebrate their healthy, thriving children.
For 35 years, the NICU at the Elliot has provided care for preterm infants as early as 23 weeks gestation, including more than 100 infants who are transferred from other units across Southern NH for the top-tier services offered at this Level III NICU, one of only two statewide. (Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center operates a Level III NICU in Lebanon.)
“I’d say almost 50% of the babies that we take care of have breathing problems,” said Dr. Matthew Ryzewski, a neonatologist who has been with the Elliot for the past nine years, at the June 22 event. “And it’s not just premature babies; full-term babies can have those issues as well.”
Overall, the Elliot’s NICU cares for more than 600 critically ill and premature infants annually.
“Today, we’re celebrating families that we’ve taken care of within the last five years,” Dr. Ryzewski said. “It’s been great to see some familiar faces and see some kids who I last saw as infants who are now running around. It’s nice to have had some part of that and to help be a part of their journey.”
A family is reunited with their NICU nurse at the Elliot Hospital’s NICU Reunion, an event celebrating families who spent time in the NICU within the last five years. (Courtesy/Elliot Hospital)
Upon arrival, families walked through an archway of blue and yellow balloons before being greeted by Disney’s Frozen princesses, Anna and Elsa. Inside, the sound of tiny feet pitter-pattered across the gymnasium floor as families shuffled between a number of activity stations. Face painting, hula hooping, and the blow-up batting cage were among the favorites.
Aidan Lamothe, a junior at The Derryfield School and the 2014 National Ambassador for the March of Dimes, was invited to share his story in a keynote address, welcoming families to the reunion.
Lamothe shared the details of his preterm birth story, which began on Oct. 12, 2007. Lamothe was born 12 weeks early, weighed 3 pounds, and remained in the NICU for 49 days.
“Every day tiny babies like me not only just survive, but thrive because of the dedication and expertise of this amazing team,” Lamonthe said.
Later, guests assembled in the dining hall to watch a short video about the Elliot NICU, featuring stories of families returning to the unit to see providers and celebrate their successes. The film also included a slideshow of then and now photographs of patients. From the side of the room, one woman yelled, “That’s you, Kane!” as the toddler’s slide appeared on the big screen.
Here, parents Matt and Meghan Lane of Weare also shared their appreciation for their providers at the Elliot.
“We’re just so thankful to be able to see them again,” Matt said. “They obviously took great care of (our twins), but the staff at the Elliot also took care of us as parents. They wouldn’t have survived without these people, but we wouldn’t have gotten through it either.”
Meghan was admitted to the Elliot NICU at 23 weeks with preeclampsia – a type of high blood pressure that can occur during pregnancy – and remained in the hospital for a total of 133 days, including time at the Boston Children’s Hospital and the Tufts Medical Center NICU as well. Her twins, born at just over one pound each, were intubated for two months. “Our odds were very, very, very slim.”
“But they are little fighters,” she said, looking down at her son, now 22 months old, sitting in her lap and snacking on a bag of Goldfish crackers.
Although there were many happy stories shared throughout the morning, providers working in an intensive care unit inevitably experience trying moments.
For one family, the day’s event brought feelings of immense joy alongside the tremendous grief that comes with the loss of a child.
In the early months of 2020, Amelia Sopko of Bennington was pregnant with identical twin boys. In March of that year, they were diagnosed with twin-twin transfusion syndrome, a rare condition in which the blood flows unequally between twins sharing a placenta. For a while, she was closely monitored, until she started leaking amniotic fluid and was admitted to the Elliot NICU on hospitalized bed rest at 27 weeks. She remained there until 32 weeks when Ethan died and Connor was delivered.
“Watching Connor grow in the NICU, watching him reach milestones was so incredible, and so heartbreaking,” Sopko said. “He’s eating and feeding and growing, and I wish his brother should have, could have, would have been there growing right alongside him.”
Navigating her grief, Sopko began volunteering with The TEARS Foundation, an organization that offers bereavement care to families who have lost a child. “The Elliot is one of our huge supporters,” Sopko said. “We’re really grateful that they are so in tune to the bereaved community. For that I’m beyond grateful.”
The Christies take a break from shooting hoops to pose for a family photo. They attended the event to celebrate their younThe Christies take a break from shooting hoops to pose for a family photo. They attended the event to celebrate their youngest son, John, held by his father Reid. gest son, John, held by his father Reid. (Photo by Jill Armstrong)
At the event, Sopko was reunited with Bonnie Martel, a neonatal transport nurse who cared for Connor in the NICU. Martel, Sopko shared, gave Connor his first bath.
“She was respectful and kind and just an advocate,” Sopko shared. “She was a real strength that I needed in a time when I was so tunnel visioned. So seeing her was a little … I hadn’t seen her in four years. And that was a little emotional.”
As the conversation ended, a spirited 4-year-old boy with light brown hair and a celestial design painted across his face sprinted across the gym in Sopko’s direction. When he reached the spot where she sat on the bleachers, she scooped him up, admiring the small child in her arms.
