Patient Stories
Peyton Nichols
NICU Graduate
Our Children's House Graduate
It’s a miracle that Peyton Nichols is alive. He wasn’t expected to live. When his mother, Katie, was 25 weeks pregnant she went for a routine check up, but found that her blood pressure was high – dangerously high. Her doctor put her in the hospital, but knew she needed better care. So he referred her to Baylor.
At Baylor, Katie was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome, a rare condition that affects one to two out of 1,000 pregnancies. It includes hemolysis, or the breakdown of red blood cells, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count. It is serious and can be fatal. Katie was taken to surgery for an emergency Caesarean section. Peyton, weighing one pound, four ounces, was immediately taken to the NICU.
Peyton spent 207 days in the Baylor NICU. For the Nichols, the staff became like family. Katie noticed how hard the nurses worked to make Peyton comfortable during the ups and downs of his NICU journey. She says that they all went out of their way to make sure she had what she needed, including a shoulder to cry on. When Peyton was finally ready to leave the NICU, he was fitted with a pediatric tracheostomy to help him breathe and a Mic-Key button for feeding. From there, the Nichols went to Our Children’s House to learn how to care for him at home.
Today, Peyton is a healthy, happy little boy just entering kindergarten. As he does, the team of miracle-workers who labored night and day to keep him alive will go with him, following his progress and watching to see the person this amazing boy becomes.
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