Cedric is a busy, growing, toddler his parents call “a hurricane of energy,” thanks in large part to specialists at the Alberta Children’s Hospital who gave him the best chance at a healthy start to life. In June 2021, Cedric was born three months premature weighing only 2 lbs., 6 oz. Right away, doctors intubated him and rushed him to the Foothills’ Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to provide oxygen and feeding support. While at the Foothills Hospital NICU, pediatric neonatologist Dr. Khorshid Mohammed from the Alberta Children’s Hospital assessed him and discovered he also had hydrocephalus – a build up of brain fluid that couldn’t drain properly.
Cedric was transferred to the Alberta Children’s Hospital, and for 70 days, the Edwards Family Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was baby Cedric’s home. Cedric’s lungs were the size of walnuts, and he continued to need a ventilator to breathe until his lungs grew strong enough to support him. He relied on specialized critical care experts in the NICU who kept a careful eye on his tiny lungs while also managing his hydrocephalus. Each day, they painstakingly removed fluid from his brain through a temporary port using a large needle, using a donor funded ultrasound as their guide. During his NICU stay, specialists helped Cedric grow bigger and stronger every day. Thankfully with their amazing care and his own fighting spirit, Cedric graduated from using a ventilator to eventually low-flow oxygen. He went from feeding expressed breast milk through a feeding tube to using a bottle. Tallis and Brock are so grateful for the NICU team who became like family and helped them become parents by including them in his care. After about three months in the NICU, Tallis and Brock finally took their baby home in September, the month he was due to be born! When asked what the hospital means to her, Tallis says “it means our son to us.”
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World-class specialized care and state-of-the-art equipment gave Cedric his best chance at a healthy life and today he is absolutely thriving at home as a healthy toddler, and, a new proud big brother! His parents are pleased to be part of this Equipment Power Hour to help critical care experts in the NICU stay sharp in their skills and prepared to care for the tiniest babies like him. Tallis herself is also a nurse and knows just how vital it is to practice skills on sim dolls like the baby sim doll we are buying today.
