Robby Woodard
Sponsor: MY58

Maine
Nolan (Age 7)
Premature Birth

Lisa was 24 weeks into her pregnancy when her high blood pressure triggered a round of tests with a grim diagnosis: HELLP syndrome, a very rare complication of pregnancy where the only effective treatment is delivery. Lisa and her husband welcomed their son, Nolan Irish, into the world through an emergency C-section. Nolan weighed only 1 pound 2 ounces.

Nolan was admitted into the NICU at The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital, where he fought courageously for his life. He spent the first two months in an incubator and on a ventilator. Nolan received steroid treatments for his lungs and had to have his blood gases checked numerous times a day, but demonstrated strength and determination that impressed his nurses and doctors.

When Nolan was almost two months old, he pulled his ventilator tube out and rapidly improved from there. Nolan’s parents were invited to take him home on June 21, exactly one week before his due date.

Today Nolan is a small boy with a huge presence. Having conquered huge odds as a baby, Nolan embraces life and its biggest challenges: He is currently working with neighborhood friends to dig a hole to China through the backyard.