最近，贾利尔的家人带他去拍了一张专业的生日照，庆祝他的一岁生日，他的家人有很多事情要庆祝. Technically, he wasn’t due to arrive until May 2023. 但在他母亲遭受了各种各样的医疗并发症之后, 包括一种叫做先兆子痫的严重血压状况, she was forced to deliver him early, changing his arrival date to Jan. 17岁，怀孕只有24周，体重1磅11盎司.

“医生告诉我，我的血压已经到了中风的边缘,” says Josett, his mother. “为了我的安全，医生说他们需要接生.”

因为任何早产新生儿都可能出现并发症, Jahleel很快从Bayfront Baby Place (Bayfront Health St的一部分)转到了医院. Petersburg but located within Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital) to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)美国儿科学会(American Academy of Pediatrics)给出的最高等级为四级.

Diagnosed withBronchopulmonary Dysphasia

贾利尔患有一种慢性肺病叫做 bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a condition not uncommon in babies born prematurely. 因为需要机械通气和氧疗, 他用一根呼吸管从嘴里插了进去. 他后来还接受了气管切开术(一种在颈部开一个口进入气管的外科手术)。. 这个开口允许空气绕过口鼻，通过插入气管的管子直接进入肺部. 对于需要长时间机械通气(使用呼吸机)的婴儿来说，这是一种常见的策略。.

To complicate matters, he was struggling with pulmonary hypertension. 这种情况在有这类医疗问题的早产儿中很常见.

In the NICU, Josett and her husband, Jamole, held Jahleel in their arms, 当时他还连着无数的电线和管子，维持着他的生命. 他细小的气道非常不稳定，以至于多次崩溃，给他的康复之路带来了挫折. 医生把他的呼吸机调到尽可能高的水平，以帮助稳定病情.

Specialized Care

Jahleel和他在约翰霍普金斯儿童医院的护理团队

The Esophageal and Airway Treatment (EAT) team 约翰霍普金斯儿童医院的医生介入帮助. Led by a pediatric thoracic surgeon, Jason Smithers, M.D., 这个多学科的团队照顾复杂的食管和气道异常的患者, 吸引了来自美国和其他国家的患者. 患者采用团队方式与来自不同专业的提供者进行治疗, including pediatric surgeons, gastroenterologists, otolaryngologists, pulmonologists, critical care physicians, nutritionists and speech/swallowing specialists.

史密瑟斯说:“在我们看到的病例中，贾利尔的肺部问题更为严重。. “Since prematurity effects these babies head to toe, 你必须观察每个身体系统的细节，并让这些系统的专家参与进来，以便找出如何优化他们的护理.”

EAT小组进行了气管切开和主动脉切开, 通气用于打开和支撑气道的外科手术, 为了帮助他更好地呼吸，让他的呼吸机设置调低到更安全的水平. These operations are designed to improve tracheomalacia, a condition where the trachea, or windpipe, becomes weak and collapses, causing difficulty breathing, wheezing and even respiratory failure.

“通过移动气道塌陷的部分来打开气管, 我们将它缝合到周围的结构上，使气道保持开放，保持稳定，防止它崩溃,” Smithers says.

“Jahleel started to improve right away,” Josett says. “医生告诉我，他们没想到他会这么快好起来.”

“All of these kids are complicated, because prematurity affects all their body systems, lungs, heart and brain,” Smithers says. “If you have to do surgery, 你必须弄清楚如何在影响婴儿的任何其他问题的背景下安全地做到这一点.”

Going Home

在医院住了9个月后，贾利尔终于在10月9日第一次回家了. 31.

乔瑟特是一名注册护理助理(CNA)，她说她已经习惯了在医疗环境中工作. However, she only works with adults. “如果是你自己的孩子，处理贾利尔的问题就不一样了，”她说. “我必须确保我了解他所有的健康问题，以及我需要如何在家照顾他.”

Today, Jahleel weighs more than 17 pounds. “He’s doing great,” Josett says. “自从他10月份出院以来，他在道路上遇到了一些挫折. We have been back to the hospital a couple of times.

“但他已经开始做一个1岁孩子的正常事情了. He loves playing with his brothers. He laughs a lot. He’s a happy baby. 我开始看到隧道尽头的光明和健康的未来.”