Tiny survivor has a real fighting spirit

Carsyn Grayce Wolford turns five months old. The day will represent yet one more milestone in the short life of the preemie born March 8 at St. Peter's Hospital.
At birth she weighed 15 ounces; less than one pound and measured just 10 inches. Her survival is nothing less than a miracle, according to Austyn Wolford, her mother. And her doctors agree.
Carsyn is the smallest baby to ever have survived at St. Peter's, weighing in at just 429 grams at birth. Her original due date was June 15 but because Austyn suffered in early March from pre-eclampsia (or pregnancy-related hypertension) and a placental disruption (when the placenta separates from the wall of the uterus prematurely) an emergency caesarean had to be performed.
Before Carsyn's birth, the smallest baby to survive at St. Peter's was born December 2004 at 23 weeks gestation (three weeks sooner than Carsyn), weighing 15.4 ounces.
Survival of babies weighing over 500 grams (more than one pound) is pretty commonplace, but for those that weigh less than 500 grams, survival to this point is rare, said physician Karen Narkewicz, chief of Neonatology at St. Peter's.
"She was strong and feisty, right from the start. ... Of the 75 to 80 percent of these babies that do survive, most have major problems. Carsyn does not appear to have any major problems. She will have challenges with gaining weight. ... Developmentally, she has met all of the milestones and is doing great," she said.
Carsyn is going home today after three and one-half months in the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. She is now 18 inches long and weighs five pounds and five ounces.
"She's huge," said Austyn Tuesday afternoon, cradling the wriggling baby in her arms while mom and daughter posed for photographers and reporters.
At just over five pounds the infant even appeared large to Jackie Repscher, the nurse who has been at her side since the birth.
It's hard to believe that a tiny pair of leather moccasins no larger than 1 ½ inches each actually fit Carsyn's feet a few days after she was born. Now her feet are twice that size, Austyn said.
Merely holding her baby in her arms is something she cherishes.
The young mother has gotten used to the waiting game. She wasn't able to see her baby until a day after her birth. At the time her skin was transparent and her eyes had not yet opened
Austyn went home March 12, four days after the birth, and then began daily trips to the NICU to visit her child.
"I couldn't do anything except sometimes hold her hand, for seven weeks. I couldn't change a diaper or hold her. It was very difficult, but she was a fighter," she said.
The process has been an emotional rollercoaster ride.
"It's been a 138-day adventure. No one is ever prepared for something like this. No one ever thinks it's going to happen to them," she said.
At 27, she is a first-time mom and a medical billing specialist at Julie Blair Nursing Home in Albany. She plans on being the child's primary caregiver, but will move back to Stoneridge, Ulster County to live with her parents so they, too, can be an active part of the care-giving circle.
As a newborn, Carsyn faced a number of complications, Narkewicz said.
"She was small for her gestational weight. Her liver was very large at birth and her lungs were about the size of a postage stamp, which made it difficult to put her on a ventilator. ... Early on, she had a hole in her intestine but was too small to undergo surgery. She eventually underwent three surgeries and had to be fed through an IV," she said.
Challenges still lie ahead for the infant who has been nicknamed Sarah Bernhardt, after the 19th Century Parisian actress because of her apparent flair for the dramatic. But her doctors are confident that she'll continue to thrive and her mom plans to be there every step of the way.
"I never thought I could love something so much," Austyn said.

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