Born at 22 Weeks, Miracle Baby Nyla Thriving Thanks to Silver Cross Hospital NICU Team

Micro-preemie Nyla Brooke Haywood’s miraculous survival story and triumphant send-off from Silver Cross Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit Monday has made national headlines and put the spotlight on the New Lenox hospital’s ability to care for premature babies close to home.

Born Nov. 17, 2023, at only 22.3 weeks, weighing 1.1 pounds and measuring just 11 inches, Nyla is the youngest baby born at Silver Cross Hospital and truly is a miracle in every sense of the word. She was discharged after a six-month stay in the hospital’s Amy, Matthew and Jay Vana Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to throngs of well-wishers, family and media.

“From the very beginning, everyone was so caring,” Nyla’s mother NaKeya Haywood of Joliet explained. “My admitting nurse on Labor and Delivery was the best. I absolutely adored her. She held my hand. She cried with me. She just took care of my whole family, and that was something she didn't have to do. So, I always think of her.”

Fine, until it wasn’t

NaKeya, who works for Silver Oaks Behavioral Hospital on Silver Cross Hospital’s New Lenox campus, said her pregnancy was progressing normally until about 20 weeks, when she developed symptoms of preeclampsia, including high blood pressure and swelling.

A visit to her obstetrician prompted him to send her to Silver Cross.

After emergency testing at Silver Cross, NaKeya learned she had protein in her urine and pre-eclampsia with severe features.

“At that moment, we met with all of the doctors that we could possibly meet with,” she said.

“You’ve got in the back of your head, ‘This is not what I expected to happen in any way, shape or form. Everything was fine yesterday, and here we are.’ So, after talking to my husband, after just praying and understanding what we were up against, we just went ahead and decided that we were going to hold on to her as long as we could …  with the end goal of delivering her.”

The goal was Saturday, Nov. 18.

“Then Friday night, she decided that she was ready to come,” NaKeya said. “So, at 9:51 p.m., Little Miss Nyla entered the world.”

And though she was the youngest neonate ever born at Silver Cross Hospital since the opening of its 24-bed NICU in July 2022, the NICU team was ready. 

“We’ve Got This”

“It really took a nation to take care of Nyla,” said Peggy Farrell, DNP RN, Director of NICU and Lactation Services at Silver Cross. “We talked with the labor and delivery team, the maternal fetal medicine team and the neonatology team, and the nurses and respiratory therapists as well to create a plan for the delivery. The neonatologists said, ‘We’ve got this,’ and went away and started doing the things that needed to be done. From stabilization, neuro protection, keeping her warm and keeping the room quiet developmentally for the baby.”

Dr. Mario Sanchez, Silver Cross neonatologist who was present at Nyla’s miracle birth, knew the odds weren’t good for a 22-week delivery, no matter how ready the expert team is. In fact, survival is 50:50 for neonates born at 23 or 24 weeks; even less for babies born at Nyla’s gestational age of 22.3 weeks.

“So, our team prepared flawlessly,” he said. “We had everything prepared. Every member participated together, and we worked together as a team, and just had Nyla deliver as flawlessly as possible. I couldn't expect any better than what happened on her birthday.”

“At delivery, our OR was set to 80 degrees to ensure adequate warmth for tiny Nyla,” explained Dr. Corryn Greenwood, Medical Director of the NICU. After birth, she was intubated immediately and given oxygen for the first month of her life. She received nutrition through an IV. “Common complications we see in extremely premature babies is something called bronchopulmonary dysplasia, or BPD, which Nyla is still dealing with. When a baby’s born that early, their lungs don't develop in the regular fashion. Being on the ventilator, being on lots of oxygen puts some stress on those lungs and causes some injury, and that takes a lot of time to heal.”

She added, “Nyla, as many premature babies tend to, did get sicker after those first couple days. But she was strong enough and able to get through those trying times. And not only did she overcome those odds, she's done it while thriving and doing quite well from a developmental standpoint.”

A Fighter from the Start

Neonatologist, Dr. Brett Galley, explained to the Haywoods that though the odds were low, new medicines and procedures are helping improve them.

“We had all hands on deck here,” he said. “We had doctors, we had nurses, we had pharmacists, we had respiratory therapists. All who were just dedicated to taking care of Nyla in those first hours. And Nyla, in those first hours and days did remarkably, remarkably well. Especially for a baby born this early. We expect these babies to be extremely, critically ill.”

Nyla was strong enough to weather a few critical first days. Neonatologist Dr. Cristina Baumker met Nyla when the newborn was a day old.

“From the beginning, she's just been such a miracle. I see her, and it just makes my heart melt because she's so beautiful, and we all love her. We got really attached to her.

“Nyla hit some very important milestones as far as breathing, and that's the number one thing that we want to make sure that their lungs are developing. The lungs are very small. With her size and her chest while this little her lungs are like tiny little grapes. They're just all starting to develop.”

So, Nyla was sent home Monday with some oxygen, and her parents were trained how to use it.

“But she's thriving. She's developing incredibly well, and over time, she'll overcome this lung disease as she gets bigger and her lungs grow and heal. So, we're really excited with how well she's done.

“It's a challenge for a lot of babies that are born this early to even survive. But in Nyla’s case not only did she overcome those odds, she's done it while thriving and really doing, quite well from a developmental standpoint. We’re very excited for her future.”

‘They’re Family’

After six months, Dr. Baumker said it was bittersweet watching Nyla, now weighing 10 pounds, go home.

“Her parents love her so much and it's just so moving and touching to see them, with her,” she added.

NaKeya said they feel the attachment to Silver Cross as well, especially the nurses and doctors.

“They’re family. I've been come here every day for six months. So, we know each other. Everyone looked out for us. I called all the time. They let me know how everything was going,” she added. “I couldn't be more grateful. I say all the time, it literally was divine. This is God for sure. This NICU just opened a couple years ago. If it wasn't for this, we would be going downtown every day. So just being able to be this close to home, my mom works here (at Silver Cross). I was born in Silver Cross, so there's just so many things that made it feel safe.”