By DANIELA FLORES
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TRENTON — After almost four months of waiting, Tamera Dixon, who
weighed less than a soda can when she was born on April 25, is ready
to head home.
Believed to be one of the smallest babies ever born in New Jersey, the
Trenton preemie has spent most of her life in an incubator.
Tamera weighed slightly more than 11 ounces and measured 10 inches
when she was born after only 6 months in the womb. Now that she's
4 pounds, 8 ounces, doctors have given her the OK to go home with
her parents.
She was scheduled to leave the hospital Friday, but after the excitement
of a news conference, hospital officials said she'll most likely head home
Saturday.
"It is a miracle, she is a miracle," her mother, Andrea Haws, said with a
bright smile Friday as she held the baby girl she'd prayed for.
"From when she was born, I think everyone knew she was a fighter,"
she said. "She's going to be a feisty little girl."
Tamera was delivered by Caesarean section at 25 weeks — 15 weeks
short of a normal gestation period. Haws had already experienced
complications during her pregnancy, but when her kidneys started
failing and Tamera stopped growing, doctors decided they couldn't
wait any longer to deliver her.
Haws, 40, recovered, but still spent most of her time at Capital
Health System's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit visiting a child who
she said at one point "didn't look like a human being."
That's all changed for Tamera, who would have been about a week
old on Friday had she arrived near her due date. While being fed on
Thursday, the pink onesie-wearing bundle of energy wriggled in a nurse's
arm and looked around the room attentively — her size the only sign of
her past troubles.
Dr. Stephen Moffitt, Tamera's doctor, said he's cautiously optimistic
that she'll develop normally.
"She's breathing perfectly well on her own," said Moffitt, adding that
doctors gave Tamera a 10 to 15 percent chance of survival before she
was born.
Seeing Tamera transform into the bright-eyed center of
attention at the NICU has been very exciting, Haws said.
She credits the hospital and her faith in God for helping
her through the hard times.
"To see an 11 ounce-baby, you wouldn't believe what it looked like," said
Haws, who moved to Trenton from Jamaica a few years ago. "It was just
skin and bones. She had all those wires all over and it was very scary."
Haws, who already has two boys, ages 11 and 7, with her husband, Terry
Dixon, is enrolled in a family support program at the hospital.
Christy Keppel, a family support specialist with the March of Dimes who
works at Capital Health System, said it's rare for babies who are born
Tamera's size to survive and go home without complications. She's been
working with Haws to let her know what to expect when she brings
Tamera home. As part of that program, Haws spent Thursday night
at the hospital alone with her baby.
"It gives them a chance to make sure that they're fully prepared to
take the baby home," Keppel said.
Haws said she's nervous because Tamera is so small, but after praying
for a girl and then waiting more than a month to even hold her, she's
more excited to be able to take care of her baby. She has overcome
all her obstacles," Haws said. "I'm very excited to bring her home."
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