For decades, the board-certified neonatologists in CHOC’s three neonatal intensive care units have cared for thousands of babies needing specialized care. Say hello to a few graduates of the CHOC NICU.
Dylan & Payton Law
Dylan, age 9, and his younger sister Payton, age 7, were both born 6 weeks premature and cared for by the doctors and nurses of the neonatal intensive care units at both CHOC Hospital in Orange and CHOC at Mission Hospital. Their mom McKenzie shares a thank you to their care teams.
My family will forever be grateful for the blessings CHOC has given us― our children. Not only did Dr. Hanten save Dylan’s life, but all the nurses, doctors, and staff at CHOC took incredible care of Dylan, giving him strength and providing unforgettable emotional support for our family during a terribly scary time. Two years later those same doctors and nurses took care of his little sister Payton, who also spent a month in the NICU. They treated us like family, not just patients. They calmed our fears, held our hands, and loved our babies. CHOC has a special team of angels here to carry our little ones for us when we needed them the most.
When Dylan was born, doctors and nurses swarmed the delivery room. The doctors administered several doses of epinephrine to Dylan, but he didn’t breathe on his own for 22 minutes. They finally heard a faint heartbeat, but told us the likelihood of Dylan making it through the night was uncertain. At 2 days old he was transported via ambulance to CHOC in Orange, where we found out that he had brain damage. It was devastating to hear that our son may not walk, talk or eat on his own. Today, Dylan is a happy, kind, and compassionate little 9-year-old. He has ataxic cerebral palsy and struggles daily with his hands shaking, but that doesn’t stop him from enjoying school, Jujitsu, playing with his little sister, going to church, doing art projects, and playing outside. -Mackenzie Law
Noah Wenrick
Nine hours after Noah was born, a nurse noticed something was off during a routine check-up, and soon the family was sent to the NICU. Noah was diagnosed with a lung infection and stayed in the NICU for almost two weeks. His mom Ashlie pens a thank you note to his care team.
A huge thank you from the Wenrick family to the whole CHOC NICU team for all that you do every day! You made us feel like family while Noah was in the NICU. Being new parents it was scary for us, but you helped us understand every step up to the day Noah got to go home! Now he’s a healthy and active 3-year-old. -Ashlie Wenrck
Ryan McLeod
You first met Ryan, a graduate of CHOC’s small baby unit, in November during #PrematurityAwareness Month. Look at him now! Ryan is a happy-go-lucky boy who recently celebrated his first birthday with a trip to Disneyland. At his Mickey Mouse-themed birthday party for family and friends, his parents set up a CHOC Walk station and encouraged their loved ones to join Ryan’s Sidekicks, their first-ever CHOC Walk team. Ryan’s dad says, “The way my wife and I look at things after going through this experience is that we want as many people and possible to gain awareness and support the CHOC NICU and their exceptional Small Baby Unit.”
Austin, Michaela & Caden Shay
Triplets Austin, Michaela and Caden were born a day shy of 31 weeks and spent 80 days in the neonatal intensive care unit at CHOC at Mission Hospital. Their mom Jennifer, a clinical nurse at CHOC at Mission, shares a thank you for her co-workers who cared for her children.
On behalf of my entire family, I would like to thank the doctors and nurses that took care of our triplets at CHOC at Mission in the fall and winter of 2009. Austin, Michaela and Caden thrived with the tender loving care provided by the staff. Born a day shy of 31 weeks, Austin weighed 3 lbs. 9 oz., Michaela weighed 3 lbs. 3 oz., and Caden weighed a whopping 2 lbs. 0.5 oz. Despite my nursing knowledge, I was treated first and foremost as a mom. The nurses, doctors, and staff were always very professional in addition to being extremely considerate and attentive to our needs.
We cannot thank you enough for what you have given our family. We truly believe that our children― Caden in particular― would not be here today without the care they received in the NICU. It is because of the dedication of the CHOC at Mission NICU staff that we have three relatively healthy 7-year-olds at home today. What a happy and crazy home it is! Though we can never repay you for all that you have done for our family, we wish to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You are all honorary aunts and uncles! Without the dedication of this team, I would not be the mommy of four that I am today. You have blessed our family beyond measure. -Eternally grateful, Jennifer Shay
Willow Dee
After a healthy pregnancy, Willow was born just after 36 weeks via an emergency c-section. She was immediately transported to CHOC for body and brain cooling, to prevent seizure, stroke or damage to the brain. Her mother Cara shares a thank you note to the team that cared for now thriving almost-two-year-old.
To our CHOC caregivers,
We want to thank you with our entire hearts for truly transforming a nightmare into a beautiful dream. After an extremely healthy pregnancy without any red flags, Willow was born at 36 weeks and 2 days. Twelve hours after my water broke, there was extreme blood loss prompting the nurse to call a code. The on-call OB-GYN at the hospital where I delivered was in my room within seconds. Willow’s heart rate was around 60 beats per minute, only half of what it should be. An emergency cesarean immediately followed. Doctors discovered that I had a very rare condition called velamentous cord insertion where the umbilical cord inserts into the fetal membranes, then travels to the placenta. This means exposed blood vessels are vulnerable to rupture. Willow had lost a substantial amount of blood that required two blood transfusions and she was intubated.
The life-saving, phenomenal level of care that we received from our team at Hoag Hospital quickly continued at CHOC. After a perfectly healthy pregnancy, I never could have foreseen my daughter would be taken via ambulance to a different hospital just five minutes after I saw her for the first time. EVERY single day, I think about our nurses and doctors at CHOC. They were calm, abundantly informative and so gentle. The doctors answered as many questions as we had and we were never rushed. They are truly masters of their craft. Before this experience, I never thought a NICU could be comforting.
The NICU doctor said that Willow had experienced “insult” to her brain; the lack of blood flow had caused hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Fortunately, CHOC has a body and brain-cooling process that is used in situations like this to prevent stroke, seizure and damage to the brain. Our daughter is lucky; her 72-hour cooling process resulted in zero stroke, seizure, or worse.
Today, Willow is 20 months old and thriving! She is a miracle because of all the hands that worked on her. We feel grateful to have spoken on behalf of CHOC over the last 20 months to help raise much needed funds for the new all-private-room NICU that opens this summer. We believe in paying it forward to the future families that now can stay with their baby as they heal. We love our caregivers at CHOC more than they may know. –Love, Cara Dee
Faith Amouroux
Diagnosed at 18 weeks gestation with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, Faith was born at 40 weeks gestation and spent four months in the neonatal intensive care unit. Today, she is a happy and active six-year-old girl. Her family shares a note of thanks for the team that cared for her.
Our family thanks God everyday and we are forever grateful for the caring and dedicated NICU team at CHOC. Our daughter, Faith was diagnosed at 18 weeks gestation with a birth defect called CDH (Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia). We learned that 80 percent of her diaphragm was missing and were told that the statistic were not good. Her chances for survival were slim and if she did survive, she would have many health issues. Faith was born at 40 weeks gestation and after ECMO, CDH repair surgery & four months in NICU she pulled through. Faith is now 6 years old and has had a few minor hurdles but continues to defy the odds. She is doing great. Faith loves to sing, dance, play dress up, jump rope and read. Thank you CHOC; you have an awesome NICU team. -Amouroux Family
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Learn more about CHOC’s Neonatology Services
CHOC Hospital was named one of the nation’s best children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report in its 2024-25 Best Children’s Hospitals rankings and ranked in the neonatology specialty.
