When
Monica Vega pulls the short, dark hair of her 10-month-
old daughter, Seleste, into a little ponytail, it sticks straight up.
“She reminds me of Cindy Lou Who from
How the Grinch
Stole Christmas
,” the Dallas mom says.
But last spring, Seleste looked quite different. Born seven weeks
premature, she lay in an incubator, hooked to a ventilator and
feeding tube.
“I was expecting the worst but praying for the best,” says Vega,
recalling those weeks her youngest daughter spent in the neonatal
intensive care unit (NICU) at Methodist Richardson Medical Center.
Something’s not right
Midway through Vega’s third trimester, she had started experiencing
severe abdominal pressure and pain.
“I get to know my patients really well, and Monica is as tough
as nails,” says Chad Simmons, MD, FACOG, Vega’s longtime
OB-GYN. “If she’s complaining, it means something major is
going on.”
Vega’s pains were near the incision from a past cesarean
section. Dr. Simmons feared she might be at risk for a uterine
rupture, when the scar tissue becomes so thin that the baby
can break through the uterus.
He admitted Vega to Methodist Richardson immediately,
trying to buy time for the unborn baby. Then two days later,
on April 9, Vega started bleeding, prompting Dr. Simmons to
perform a cesarean section.
“It takes a lot for me to stop a pregnancy at 33 weeks, and
this was a sign we had to move,” he says.
A home away from home
In addition to days on a ventilator and feeding tube, Seleste
required blood transfusions and phototherapy treatments
for jaundice.
“Taking great care of our smallest and sickest patients is
something we are very proud of at Methodist Richardson,” says
Swati Johnson, DO, FAAP, director of newborn services at
Methodist Richardson. “Neonatologists with expert training
provide 24/7 coverage, and our new level III NICU is equipped
with the latest technology to care for infants as well as provide an
intimate, reassuring setting for families.”
Vega attests that the staff was like family. “They gave me peace
of mind,” she says. “I cried every single day when I had to leave
Seleste, but they kept me updated on every little thing she’d do
and every sound she’d make and how she’d react to certain things.
I knew she was being taken care of well.”
The day Seleste came home, Vega couldn’t stop crying.
“I owe the NICU team everything,” she says. “They’re all like
special angels in my heart. They’ve done so much for my family.”
Angels to
the rescue
Monica Vega’s daughter, Seleste, was born seven weeks early, but is now doing
great, thanks to the “special angels” at Methodist Richardson. Click the box
above to hear Vega share her family’s story.
NEONATOLOGY
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Methodist Richardson Medical Center
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Spring 2014
