Orlando Sentinel

Kyle and I are in Orlando, FL and having a blast! Can't wait to tell you all about our trip, but that will have to wait until we get in home.


In the meantime, thought I'd share the following article that ran in today's Orlando Sentinel:


Florida Children's Hospital reunion in Orlando celebrates preemies

When Jennifer Kupiec's water broke in a hotel room just 22 weeks into her pregnancy, her Disney vacation took a frightening turn.

"My family was a thousand miles away," the Ohio woman said.

And then after her new son was born, the doctors at Florida Children's Hospital said his chances of survival were not good.

But yesterday, Kupiec, 36, held her healthy 15-month-old son, Kyle, at a reunion for former neonatal intensive-care patients and their families. The safari-themed party at Orlando Junior Academy -- complete with a moon bounce, crafts, clowns and a disc jockey -- gave patients and their families a chance to share their stories and reunite with their former doctors and nurses.


Kupiec flew in for the event out of appreciation for the care her son received. In February, they also visited the hospital for Kyle's first birthday.

"It just didn't seem right celebrating in Ohio," she said.

The hospital hosted a similar reunion six years ago. The plan was to host one every year, but the hospital never had the money. This year, hospital officials made sure to free up $5,000 for the party, plus an additional $2,000 in donations.

"We wanted to tell the families, 'Hey, we still care about you,' " said Wanda Perara, administrative nurse manager of the neonatal intensive-care unit.

Since the unit opened in 1983, it has treated nearly 11,000 babies, most of them premature. But full-term babies born with life-threatening diseases also are taken in.

Neonatologist Jim Rawlings said he has bonded with many of his patients and their families.

Dr. Jim Rawlings visits with former patients Kyle Kupiec and Rylee Davis

during a reunion Sunday at Orlando Junior Academy.

"They're going through one of the most trying times in their lives with a recently born critically ill baby," he said. "Anyone who offers them help and care will have a special place in their hearts."

Doctors and nurses also said they often made friends with the tiny patients.

In one case, that bond has lasted two decades.

Tranica Hardy, 20, came to the reunion with her former nurse, Anna Daverman, who is now her godmother. Originally from Cocoa, Hardy lives with Daverman in west Orlando. Hardy wants to go to school in the area and eventually work in neonatal care, paying forward the help she received.

"I like it," she said. "I think it's really cool to take care of babies."

Hardy was born prematurely in Texas after 26 weeks' gestation and was transferred to Florida Children's Hospital three months later. Her heart and lungs had not fully formed and she had trouble breathing. Daverman took care of her every day that she worked for 15 months.

In addition to former patients getting reacquainted with doctors and nurses, spontaneous reunions popped up between families that had babies in the same unit. The Kupiecs joined three other families they recognized from the hospital.

Kyle and John Michael Chicarelli

In the group was Kristie Chicarelli, 36, of Eustis, who came with her 16-month-old son, John Michael."We thought it would be really rewarding just to see other babies and share stories," she said.

Her story, she said, was harrowing: she got sick with cholestasis, a liver disorder, and had to deliver John Michael by emergency Cesarean section 29 weeks into her pregnancy.

"When he was born, he wasn't breathing," she said. "They didn't say 'boy,' 'girl,' anything. They just said, 'Time 5:23,' and took him to the NICU. I didn't see him for another hour and when I saw him again he had tubes everywhere."

John Michael spent 38 days in intensive care and is now in good health, Chicarelli said.

"We call him terror on two feet," she said. "He's into everything. We just feel so blessed."