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Family, care team reunite in NICU 18 years later
A Hartford family returned to Ascension St. Joseph's NICU 18 years after their son was born at 2 pounds, 2 ounces and spent the first 100 days of his life in hospital care.
HARTFORD, Wis. - The NICU can be one of the hardest places to start motherhood. It is where miracles happen, but families, nurses and doctors seldom get the chance to reunite away from the alarms, tubes and monitors.
What we know:
For one Hartford family, it was a story 18 years in the making.
Families enter the NICU at Ascension St. Joseph’s Hospital because they have to. But every now and then, reunions make space for a proper hello.
When Shawnda Van Derel prepares for an incoming patient, introductions happen fast.
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"It's a big, big day for him," Van Derel said. "There's different names that stick out, and Stihl was one of them."
Molly Wagner of Hartford first came to the hospital a little more than 18 years ago. She was 20 weeks pregnant and had gone into labor.
What they're saying:
"I also got the award that I did not want — the record for being in Labor & Delivery the longest," Wagner said.
Two months later, her son Stihl entered the world.
"Two pounds, two ounces, 14 inches long," Wagner said.
He would spend the first 100 days of his life under the care of NICU doctors and nurses, including Van Derel.
Their work is not only about caring for babies born with complications, but also the families waiting to bring them home.
"Sometimes for these mothers, it can be a traumatizing experience, and they may, you know, kind of forget about some of the experiences they had," Van Derel said. "And hopefully they remember some of the good."
Big picture view:
Eighteen years later, the Wagner family remembers the good, with gratitude for the miracles that happen in the NICU.
"You don't realize how much goes into everything," Wagner said. "I think it's also important that all the nurses and the staff know that it's amazing what you guys can do. Like, I think it's important that you guys see that." Wagner said.
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Stihl recently graduated from Hartford Union High School. He hopes to study sports performance at UW-Parkside this fall.
The Source: The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News.