Plainfield baby goes home after 111 days in hospital
Jasmine Huerta's favorite Christmas present weighs 5 pounds, 8 ounces, cries softly and seems to grow by the minute.
It's her baby brother, Martin Huerta Jr.
Dressed in a tiny, fleece Christmas suit and a knit Santa hat, Martin Jr. got to go home to Plainfield on Wednesday for the first time after being born three months premature Sept. 3 at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove.
“When I first saw my little brother, I thought he was really small,” 10-year-old Jasmine said, spreading her hands about six inches apart to show how tiny Martin Jr. was at birth when he weighed only 1 pound 3 ounces. “I'm pretty excited. He was like the best present I ever had.”
Martin Jr.'s mother, Angelica Salas, 35, had a high-risk pregnancy, suffering from high blood pressure that put her life, and the life of her unborn son, at risk, said her husband, Martin Huerta Sr. And when little Martin was born, doctors gave him just a 50-50 chance of survival.
“His eyes were fused. His skin was so thin and transparent you were almost afraid to touch him,” said Dr. Vibha Thaker, medical director of the neonatal intensive care unit at Good Samaritan.
Doctors put Martin Jr. on a machine that helped him breathe 720 times a minute. (Babies without health problems breathe between 40 and 60 times a minute.) The machine helped his tiny lungs provide him enough air, Thaker said.
“I was thinking the baby is going to die, he's not going to make it,” said Huerta, a 35-year-old construction worker.
It wasn't until Martin Jr. was 2 weeks old that his health began improving and doctors told his parents he was doing better. On Wednesday, at 111 days into his life, Martin Jr. could eat through his mouth and hear normally, and his eyes were in good condition, Thaker said.
When he passed a final evaluation by Dr. Jeanette Hoenig, a neonatologist who has been supervising his care, doctors decided the 3-month-old was ready to leave the hospital on Dec. 22 — his original due date.
“He was supposed to be born today and he's going home today,” Thaker said.
As the Huerta family prepared to leave for a quiet Christmas at home, just the five of them, Santa arrived to give baby Martin and his sisters teddy bears. Even at 4½ times his birth weight, Martin Jr. was slightly smaller than the stuffed animal.
Martin Jr. will remain on oxygen for about three months while at home, his doctors said. Thaker said a nurse will make visits to the Huertas' home and her staff will remain on-call as the family gets used to caring for their new bundle of joy all on their own.
Salas said she was very content with the child she sees as a Christmas gift. She thanked the doctors and nurses for helping her and her baby make it through.
“For me, this is the best Christmas,” Huerta said. “Lots of emotions and happiness for my baby and my family.”