When Time Is All You Can Offer
CHRISTUS St. Michael Health System’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) helps parents to spend more crucial time with their baby by providing advanced care right here in Texarkana.
Joseph Campbell, American mythologist, writer and lecturer once said, “We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.”
Patton and Alison Crank’s plan for their life and the life of their expected baby changed in an instant when their bundle of joy arrived 14 weeks early. Suddenly, as a new mother, Alison no longer had control. She felt powerless over the fate of her newborn child.
“The only thing I felt I could do for him was be there,” said Alison. “The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at CHRISTUS St. Michael gave me the opportunity to do just that.”
On February 11, 2013, Alison, a nurse at CHRISTUS St. Michael Rehabilitation Hospital, was working when contractions began and co-workers urged her to call her doctor. At 26 weeks, she was already 50% effaced and dilated to 1 cm. She was immediately sent home to be on bed rest and set to return on Thursday morning.
There are no words that could possibly express my gratitude for the care the CHRSTUS St. Michael NICUS provided, the love they expressed, and the support they gave us.
When she returned Thursday, February 14, she had already dilated to 5 cm and 100% effaced. She was admitted immediately. Alison, thinking everyone was being overly cautious, remained calm and even encouraged her husband, Patton, a driver for UPS, to wait and come to the hospital when he got off work.
“We debated on whether he should even stay the night and take off work the next day,” said Alison. “Thankfully, we decided he would stay with me that night in the hospital.”
At 11:50 p.m. on February 14, 2013, Jace Paul Crank was born weighing only 2 ½ pounds. Suddenly, Alison and Patton had to prepare for the worst. Jace’s life was no longer in Alison’s hands.
“I remember hearing him crying and screaming, which was such a relief,” said Alison.
Jace was immediately taken to be intubated and have his vitals checked. He was brought to Alison in an incubator so she could see him before going to the NICU.
The Level III NICU offers babies born as young as 26 weeks gestation the opportunity to grow and develop under the care of board-certified neonatologists and neonatal nurse practitioners. Specially trained neonatal nurses provide around-the-clock care. The CHRISTUS St. Michael NICU offers respiratory oversight including CPAP ventilators, conventional and high frequency ventilators, and nitric oxide administration, and houses the only Retcam, or Retinopathy Camera, in the region. The Retcam helps to diagnose retinopathy of pre-maturity (ROP), which can cause blindness in premature infants.
While in nursing school, Alison ironically worked as an extern in the NICU at CHRISTUS St. Michael for a year. “If a waitress will eat the food from where she works, you know the kitchen is clean. The same applies to the nurse who chooses to keep her micro-preemie at the same facility where she works; you can be assured the care is of top quality,” Alison said.
“I knew St. Michael could offer the same technology and level of care as the facilities out of town. I witnessed firsthand the level of skill and competency the staff possessed while working there,” said Alison. “I also knew they were led by wonderful nurse practitioners and an exceptional neonatologist, Dr. Susan Keeney.”
“I never had to ask Dr. Keeney anything, she was always so thorough and would proactively update me on Jace’s progress throughout the day,” Alison explained. “The NICU staff went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and allowed us to do as much for the baby as we could.”
“Had I gone anywhere else, we would have spent more time traveling than spending the crucial time with Jace. We would have spent a fortune on travel expenses on top of medical expenses and would have had to take off from work a lot more than we did staying in Texarkana,” Alison said.
Jace was in the NICU for 14 weeks and was discharged on May 23, 2013, at 3 ½ months weighing 9 ½ pounds. By his first birthday, he was able to sit up on his own; at 14 months he was able to crawl, and at 18 months, he started walking.
“Now, we can’t get him to slow down,” Alison exclaimed. “He has truly come a long way!”
On February 14, 2015, Jace turned two years old, now measuring as he should for his age in weight and height and has only a slight difficulty with his speech. He is a perfectly healthy and happy little boy.
“There are no words that could possibly express my gratitude for the care the CHRISTUS St. Michael NICU provided, the love they expressed, and the support they gave us,” Alison said. “They saved Jace’s life, and therefore, they saved mine.”
