A micro preemie baby who was born weighing just one pound has been reunited with the doctor and medical team responsible for saving her life, Good Morning America reported.
Mikayla Petti was born at 24 weeks and spent 122 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at a New York hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now she's returned to that same hospital once again as a healthy baby to visit the staff who helped her survive.
“We were only a few blocks away from the house and Maria started screaming that the baby was coming out,” Andrew told CBS New York. “It was in her pant leg.”
The pair were unable to make it to a hospital with a neonatal intensive care unit, and instead pulled up to St. Joseph Hospital, located right near their home in Farmingdale.
In an interview with GMA, Maria recalled the moment the physician took their newborn into his hands and told the parents, "She's really small. I'm going to do the best that I can."
"Along with a child's first breath, once we clamp the cord everything changes for a child," Dr. Mathew told the outlet. "We were prepared, but in a little bit of shock."
Since the hospital was not equipped with a NICU nursery, the newborn was placed in an infant warmer while staff worked to save her delicate little life.
“She was a fighter," Mathew told CBS.
She and her mom, Maria, were both then taken to North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset where the micro preemie would remain for the next 122 days.
During that time, Mikayla underwent a successful heart surgery for a murmur.
It wasn't until 10 days after Mikayla was born that Maria and Andrew Petti were finally able to hold their baby for the first time.
Four months later, in mid-June, the proud parents left the NICU with Mikayla to go home as a family.
"She rolled over for the first time," Maria told GMA. "She's defying all odds of what a micro preemie baby should be doing."
Doctors have reportedly assured the Petti parents that they expect Mikayla to live a long, healthy life, one which was most certainly made possible by Dr. Mathew and his team at St. Joseph's.
In a video shared to the St. Joseph Facebook page, Dr. Mathew can be seen holding the healthy, smiling baby, and tearfully accepting a gift of thanks from her parents.
"We have this young life who wants to survive despite all the death we've seen [during the pandemic]," the physician told GMA. "It was really precious to see this little girl who knows how to fight all obstacles."
"For what he did, and his skills he had to save my baby," she said.
The Petti family hopes that little Mikayla will one day grow up to be a NICU nurse herself to help other preemie babies in need of loving care.
h/t: Good Morning America, CBS New York, Facebook | St. Joseph Hospital
