Megan, Adam and Wells on a recent visit to Akron Children’s.
Megan Wolbert works at Wooster Community Hospital as a sonographer. When she started having contractions in March at 22 weeks of her pregnancy, she was glad to be at work surrounded by medical caregivers and resources.
When an initial exam showed she was already in active labor, she knew enough to assume she and her husband, Adam, would only have a few hours with their baby before losing him. Those are the odds of babies born at 22 weeks’ gestation.
Defying the odds
But from the minute their son, Wells, was born March 22 at Summa Health – weighing just 1 pound, 3 ounces – he kept defying the odds.
Wells spent 112 days in Akron Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) before being discharged to lots of hoopla on July 11 – 2 weeks before his due date of July 23.
“We have not had a baby born at 22 weeks survive to go home from this institution in 14 years,” said Dr. Marya Strand, chair of the Department of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Akron Children’s. “He is a champ in every way.”
Dr. Marya Strand with Megan, Adam and Wells.
Megan said she and Adam knew Wells was a miracle child, but hearing the doctors talk about him really put it into perspective.
“The day we got to bring our son home is a day we will we celebrate as family forever,” Megan said.
The best place to give Wells ‘every fighting chance’
The 112 days spent in the NICU were a roller coaster ride of emotions for Megan and Adam, of Ashland.
“Honestly, our first thought when he was born was that he was tiny, of course, but that he looked surprisingly well,” said Adam. “I immediately fell in love with him.”
The first few weeks were especially difficult, but Megan and Adam felt Wells was in the best place he could be to give him every fighting chance.
“The mentality was, ‘Is he going to make it the next day?’” said Megan. “Making it through each day was a victory.”
Wells and his parents receive a clap-out upon leaving the hospital.
Overcoming challenges
Wells’ biggest challenge was his immature lungs. He fought off several infections.
The new parents couldn’t hold their baby for 19 days. “It took a whole team of people to make that happen,” said Megan. “It was very difficult to keep everything in place and connected, but they thought it was important for us to get some skin-to-skin time.”
Megan said the moment she first held Wells made her “heart super happy – it kind of healed me a little bit.”
When one infection wasn’t clearing up, pediatric orthopedic surgeons Drs. Mark Adamczyk and Drew Engles agreed to try a surgery they had never performed on a baby as small as Wells. They cleared out the infection and installed a drain in his tiny wrist.
“They decided to give it a chance, and it ended up working,” said Megan. “If they had not done that surgery, he probably would not be here, honestly.”
Megan and Adam greatly appreciated the convenience of the Ronald McDonald House of Akron to allow them to be closer to Wells. After the first 4 weeks of both parents being bedside nearly 24/7, Megan and Adam returned to work. They divided up their NICU time into separate 12-hour shifts, so one of them would always be with Wells.
Wells’ NICU clap-out includes signs, smiles and tears.
So much support for Wells
“One important thing that has worked in Wells’ favor is his parents,” said Dr. Strand. “The fact that his parents had the opportunity to be here, provide that nurturing, that sense of wholeness for him in the NICU. That consistency, that stability means so much for these tiniest of babies.”
The family called out the large network of support they received in a social media post: the nurses, respiratory, occupational, physical, speech and music therapists, case workers, lactation consultants, psychologists, pediatric orthopedic surgeons and the pediatric palliative care team.
“We can’t say enough,” wrote Megan. “Thank you for making this journey just a little bit easier. And as weird as it sounds, we’re actually going to miss seeing everyone every day.”
Occupational Therapist Izzy De Leon Soto performs a variety of infant therapies on Wells to provide comfort and address issues related to his immature musculoskeletal system development.
Home sweet home
The family is settling into something of a normal routine, even though there’s not much sleep at night, and there are still lots of doctors’ appointments and therapy visits.
Wells is getting to know his furry big brothers: German Shepherds, Maverick and Wesson. “They’re obsessed with him,” said Megan.
What’s it like to be home?
“It’s awesome,” said Adam. “He’s adjusting well. We get to hold him more, get to do a lot more of the things the nurses did for us – changing him, doing his medications. We were tired in the NICU, and we’re tired here. It’s just good to be at tired at home with him.”
Learn more about the Akron Children’s NICU.
