Austin and Preston’s Story
AUSTIN AND PRESTON
When we watch our sons Austin and Preston run around our backyard, it’s hard to believe they spent the beginnings of their lives hooked up to machines and reliant on medicine to keep them alive.
Austin and Preston Babicz
NICU Alumni
By BRAD AND KALYNN BABICZ
When we watch our sons Austin and Preston run around our backyard, it’s hard to believe they spent the beginnings of their lives hooked up to machines and reliant on medicine to keep them alive.
Born two months premature, our 3-year-old sons are now tall for their age and are full of energy and life. They are such smart boys, with never-ending appetites, silly senses of humor and big hearts for their friends and family.
But in March 2014, our dream of bringing home two healthy babies was delayed. Instead of a sweet homecoming, we left the hospital emptyhanded and spent two months learning how to be parents from afar, working eight-hour days and then visiting our sons in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. For 11 very rough days, our sons were cared for in different cities. Preston required advanced care that only a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit could provide and needed to be transferred. During that difficult period, each day we would drive to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center and then to Tampa.
We are so grateful for the care our sons received in the NICUs, and we are so excited to know that parents in the Polk County area will soon have the peace of mind of having a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit close to home.
In April 2018, the Carol Jenkins Barnett Pavilion for Women and Children will open on the Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center Campus. In addition to the higher level of neonatal care, the eight-story pavilion will include:
• 17 private suites for labor, delivery and recovery.
• 33-bed full-service pediatric emergency department.
• 32 private inpatient rooms dedicated to mother and newborn care, designed to allow women and their families to stay together.
• 64 private rooms for women’s cardiology, gynecologic surgery, cancer care and other critical and medical care designed for women’s unique needs.
• 30 private inpatient rooms for pediatric care, including space that will accommodate families that need to stay overnight.
• Seven surgical suites.
• An outpatient services floor specializing in medical care for women and children.
• 300-seat auditorium to provide space for multi-disciplinary meetings and for physician and staff meetings.
• A multipurpose patient and community education center, where prenatal and other classes can meet.
The physicians, nurses and team members at Lakeland Regional Health truly put patients at the heart of all they do. We owe so much to the compassionate NICU team who taught us how to feed and care for Preston and Austin and prepared us for what to expect, particularly after we got home. We feel compelled as a family to give back to Lakeland Regional Health in any way we can and share our success story with family and friends – even Austin and Preston like to hear about their first few days as babies.
On April 28, Austin was well enough to come home from the hospital. A week later, Preston was finally able to join his older brother. Once our family of four was home together, we thought, “Oh my goodness, THIS is how it’s supposed to be.” Won’t you join us in making a gift to ensure that those starting and raising a family will have the resources to nurture healthy children as well as the opportunity to experience the joy of “how it’s supposed to be?”