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Julie Stallings had a normal pregnancy and December 13, 2011 was just a
normal day, or so she thought. With the holidays approaching, she was
getting ready to spend time with family, wrapping up projects at work
and the thought of delivery hadn’t crossed her mind. Suddenly, she
began to experience stomach pains and, with the help of Laura Faruque,
MD, from A Woman’s View, little Brooklyn came into the world early
at Catawba Valley Medical Center.
“I have been a diabetic all my life,” Stallings said. “When
the pains started, I went to the hospital and it turned out my placenta
had torn away from the walls of my uterus. I didn’t really have
any time to think about giving birth. Dr. Faruque came in and the next
thing I knew—I was in the operating room.”
Stallings was in an emergency situation. “It was life or death, and
they about lost both of us,” she recalls. “I just laid there
praying…I put my faith in Dr. Faruque and the staff at Catawba
Valley Medical Center.”
At the time of delivery, Brooklyn was a 29-week gestation baby and weighed
in at three pounds, six ounces. “My first thought after the Caesarean
section, was that I wanted to see my baby. She had been taken to the CVMC
Level III NICU, and I laid my eyes on her for the first time in the wee
hours of the morning,” Stallings remembers. “I was crying.
She was precious, lying there hooked up to the CPAP machine. Her head
was no bigger than one of those large jawbreakers.”
A few days later, Brooklyn began to show signs of an abscessed liver. It
was recommended that Stallings have her baby transported to a Level IV
NICU, where surgery could be performed. Levine Children’s Hospital
in Charlotte was the choice and Brooklyn was loaded onto Catawba Valley
Medical Center’s Neonatal Transport, a state-of-the-art ambulance
that takes critically ill babies to and from the hospital.
“She had been very active during the first few days,” said
Stallings. “But, that changed and everything became very hectic
and scary—Brookyln was lifeless. She had a blood transfusion, went
on antibiotics and was healthy and active again.”
Brooklyn went home for the first time on January 20, 2012, incidentally
the day after Stallings’ birthday. “It was a wonderful gift,”
she said. “Not just for me, but the entire family.”
Brooklyn recently turned 1-year-old and was spotted writing a letter to
Santa at Catawba Valley Medical Center’s Health First Center, located
in the Valley Hills Mall. “It was really a full-circle kind of moment,”
said Sharon Smith, RN, MSN, Programs Coordinator at The Health First Center,
who is also a family friend. “She has really grown up and I am so
proud to know that CVMC helped her make an entrance into this world.”
Stallings says Brooklyn is thriving. “She is so delightful and smiles
all the time. She is always happy. We will not need any more special doctor’s
visit, as her liver is operating perfectly and her heart is great. She
wouldn’t be here if not for Dr. Faruque and Catawba Valley Medical
Center. I hope Santa realizes how special that most recent letter really
is!”