Breaking records

Nimer and Rawan Taqatqa from Baqa al-Gharbiyye prepared to have their first child. In December 2023, in her 35th week of pregnancy, Roan gave birth to her daughter in a normal delivery. The baby was admitted to the NICU due to late prematurity. While hospitalized, the doctors diagnosed her with a rare intestinal obstruction. Working together with the Pediatric Surgery Unit, the baby underwent several surgeries and remained in the hospital for 5 1/2 months, until being discharged home this week.

The baby, Celine Taqatqa, with her parents, Nimer and Rawan, and the NICU staff on the day of discharge

Dr. Amit Hochberg, Newborn and Neonatal Department Director, said, “The average hospital stay for small preterm infants is between 1- 2 months. Premature babies like Celine are discharged from our department after 72 hours. In this case, she required a lengthy and prolonged hospital stay and more complex treatment, which required multidisciplinary cooperation of multiple teams throughout the hospital, from pediatric surgery, pediatric gastroenterology, child development, physical therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition, pharmacy and social work. We adapted equipment, the environment and needs for Celine and her parents, to enable quality of care along with Celine's proper development in the NICU. Thanks to everyone stepping up, the close cooperation and thinking out of the box, we were able to provide professional and comprehensive treatment up to the age of five-and-a-half months, which is an unusual age in the Newborn and Neonatal Department.”

To allow her parents to adjust better in the time before her discharge home, a few days before being discharged, the NICU staff arranged for a special room for them, and they stayed there together with Celine, without any intervention of the medical staff.

The parents, Nimer and Rawan, thanked the attending staff from the bottom of their hearts, and said, “We don't have the words to thank you for the professional, supportive and devoted treatment. It’s not easy to be hospitalized for almost six months. Thanks to the support, caring and devoted care, we were able to get through this challenging time and go home with a baby in our arms.”