BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – After spending five months of his life at Broward Health Medical Center, Alanie Lettsome was released this week from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and is going home to the island of St. Thomas, the hospital said in a news release Saturday.
According to BHMC, Graysel Stuart, Alanie’s mother, sought care at Broward Health’s flagship hospital, which operates a Level III NICU after cervical incompetence put her at high risk of an early delivery.
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Doctors said three days after Stuart arrived in Fort Lauderdale, she delivered her son during her 23rd week of pregnancy.
Alanie weighed only 1 pound, 1 ounce at birth and was considered to be a micro preemie.
BHMC said Stuart told doctors that the situation was overwhelming but she appreciated her medical team’s honesty about the situation so she could be mentally prepared for any potential complications.
“Although baby Alanie required a lot of care in his early days and needed to be on a ventilator, he did not face some of the dangerous complications that can be common in premature babies, such as bleeding on the brain or intestinal complications,” the news release stated.
Due to the constant care and monitoring of his multidisciplinary care team and parents, Alanie grew to more than 9 pounds while at the hospital and was able to go back home.
During her son’s extended stay at the hospital, Stuart says the staff at Broward Health was there for her.
“At Broward Health, I felt loved,” Stuart said in a news release. “They made sure I was taken care of mentally and physically, from ensuring I was well-fed to taking me outside for walks.”
Alanie’s doctor, Johny Tryzmel, MD, who specializes in neonatology and pediatrics, said, “Our main goal is sending home a healthy baby, and we cherish the opportunity to celebrate our NICU graduates,”
To learn more about Broward Health’s neonatal intensive care unit, click here.
