alan290: Too bad you can't see the beauty in this story. But we see your blind ignorance and hatred.

Krykies! Every single story I've read today has someone with their knickers in a twist making an uncalled for comment. Happy holidays!

It is a beautiful story, and a perfect time of the year for it. God bless this tiny girl and her family. Keep them safe.

Merry Christmas All

now, movibuff, step into the IMMIGRATION laws (NOT the Constitution)....

Of course we all wish that tiny little girl well, and any Mother knows how terrified the Mom must have been. It's Christmas. We need to focus there and see the Love and Hope. That being said: we now have a complex, over-developed, fully populated world. Everything has a remote effect if not collateral damage. You guys decrying the illegal alien problem, and skyrocketing health care costs which will soon effect me when I retire - -you're right too. For every entrant without a Greencard, there's an unemployed American with a family too, not to mention raising my taxes for "programs"! Did you ever realize that when we bomb or march to "liberate" a population, somewhere five minutes earlier over there was a nice Mother waiting for a child to come from school and rocking a baby? Now she doesn't know where that schoolkid is and there's no running water or, for that matter, roof over her head. We can't sneeze anymore without knocking somebody else's hat off! We no longer "build it ourselves" or "barter". We have a money economy and SOMEBODY FOOTS THE BILL. "Wrong" in a war is only less than half soldiers. The rest are Moms, helpless kids, old too old to move, etc. We need Christmas wisdom more than ever. In AD1, migrations and conquests had made strange bedfellows for the first time, and this Messiah tried to show people, especially his forebears, the Jewish nation, how to live with people not so like themselves. We have a lot more schooling under our belts now. Maybe some of our intellectuals and theologians can "analogize" those solutions and attach those principles to this new, incredibly, inscrutably intermeshed problem of interdependent mankind. Amen. Now I'm going to go look at some of my baby pictures and say "thank you".

Where does it say that the mother is an illegal alien?

Try $10,000.00 a day. I hope this child will have a great future and do wonderful things. :)

alan-290, My brother and his wife had a child born this small and I guarantee to you all of us were born in the USA, as were both sets of grandparents and parent. My great grand parents immigrated from Sweden in the 1880's. Also, neither my brother or his wife have never smoked pot or taken any drugs not prescribed by their doctors.

Will, which my brother and his wife named him as in God's Will, while having some problems, grew up to be a fine young man who is now 27 years old.

Alan, stop assuming everything that goes wrong in this world is the fault of undocumented immigrants.

God Bless that baby and her parents. They all have a tough but amazing road ahead of them.

I wondered how long it would take for my post number 1.3 to be collapsed. On newsvine, freedom of speech is only OK if others like what you say.

Allen290

yes that is true but why do we keep them here that long. Then when that child is 21 he can come in and get his citizen ship, then bring over the whole family. geez, what is the total package on this all.

I am proud of that lady taking the care of that baby. But I wonder who is paying the hospital for this chid's care. A total of 25 hours emergency bill came today for almost $20,000 for an emergency. haven't heard from the ambulance fee yet.

Que Pasa?

Not trying to be mean but this infant weighed 9.5 ounces which is just a tad over 1/2 pound.

It is great that doctors and folks are congratting all round.... but what about the cost of care and ongoing care, maybe for the life of the child? What will the child's quality of life be out of the hospital and beyond?

Back in the day they used to be called them million dollar babies because that was what it used to cost in the 1980s to care for these infants in the hospital, and those infants used to weigh about 3ish pound plus then and were viewed as severely premature.

Guess what is it is going to cost in 2011 for the care of a 9.5 ounce baby who may end up with a mirad of health issues?

Was the mother receiving prenatal care?

How is this mother going to care for a 4 pound baby at home? Will there be help by community health nurses.... do they still have community health nurses? What if the child has breathing issues and need oxygen or may need cardiac monitoring?

I do hope you folks realize that private for profit health insurance companies only cover up the child's catastropic limit and then either the parents will have to pay or Medicaid will have to pay..... and if disabled then will probably be covered under Medicare probably, you know the Medicaid that many of you want to defund and the Medicare that you folks want to cut..... otherwise known as the both programs that you want to get rid of........

Not trying to put a damper on things but it seems that doctors in this country are always trying to push the limits, but how often do they think about the consequences of their actions and the aftermath thereof? Remember Octomom anyone?

Wishing mother and baby well..... and a long and healthy productive life....

, I don't want to make this story about illegal immigration, but you could not be any more wrong if you tried. Everyone who is born on American soil is an American citizen,

Well then, Anthony, we desperately need you out here in Colorado then, because, you see, a high number of young adults are being deported from here due to the fact that their PARENTS were illegal. They are stressed, traumatized, and lost because they were born here, do not know Spanish, and are being sent to what they consider "a foreign country". Please take your expertise to the local Federal courts, and show them exactly how and where they committed this grievous error upon US CITIZENS...when you are done with that, kindly inform these "legal" citizens how to obtain social security numbers because, you see, they have been denied them due to the fact, again, that the PARENTS are illegal.

I am aware of what the Constitution says, and I'm telling you, IMMIGRATION law is NOT the Constitution.

It is great that doctors and folks are congratting all round.... but what about the cost of care and ongoing care, maybe for the life of the child? What will the child's quality of life be out of the hospital and beyond?

The cost of care is undoubtedly high. I could ask my brother and sister-in-law how much it was when their daughter (who is now just over 2 years old) was born at 24 weeks. As far as what her quality of life will be - that will depend on what exactly and if anything, doesn't function properly. My niece has hearing loss and that's it.

Was the mother receiving prenatal care?

Not sure. According to some sources that I have read (but it's not in all sources), she developed pre-ecclampsia. In order to be diagnosed w/ pre-ecclampsia, there has to have been some amount of prenatal care.

How is this mother going to care for a 4 pound baby at home? Will there be help by community health nurses.... do they still have community health nurses? What if the child has breathing issues and need oxygen or may need cardiac monitoring?

A 4 pound baby isn't that hard to take care of. The other issues you mention are more important. Yes, there are still community or home health nurses available. I had one after delivering both of my children (also premature - but, not anywhere close to premature as this baby, but I had a lot of complications); my brother and SIL had one for their daughter when they finally brought her home (she came home 3 weeks after her original due date). When my niece was brought home she was still on oxygen part-time and still had a feeding tube (but, she was also feeding from a bottle). Cardiac monitors, feeding tubes, oxygen, etc., can all be done from home once the child is stable enough. Not to say it's easy - it's stressful, and can be difficult.

I do hope you folks realize that private for profit health insurance companies only cover up the child's catastropic limit and then either the parents will have to pay or Medicaid will have to pay..... and if disabled then will probably be covered under Medicare probably, you know the Medicaid that many of you want to defund and the Medicare that you folks want to cut..... otherwise known as the both programs that you want to get rid of........

That is very true.

rednawt,

alan-290, My brother and his wife had a child born this small and I guarantee to you all of us were born in the USA, as were both sets of grandparents and parent.

That's nice, would you like a medal, or a chest to pin it on?

My great grand parents immigrated from Sweden in the 1880's.

Yes, and they probably did it LEGALLY, as my grandparents and great great grandparents did, filling out the required documentation and getting their citizenship.

Also, neither my brother or his wife have never smoked pot or taken any drugs not prescribed by their doctors.

Again, that's nice. What does that have to do with anything? Want another medal? I bet they never robbed anyone either, embezzled money, shot anyone, etc.

mearly,

yes that is true but why do we keep them here that long.

Because our Federal Government will not do their jobs in securing the borders, enforcing our laws and kicking the illegals out. We have the weakest immigration laws and enforcement in the world and it is going to destroy this country. Don't get me wrong, I know the United States is made up of immigrants and their descendants, but the flood of illegals is overwhelming. Its a full-scale invasion. That is why several have suggested it on this forum, whether this lady is one or not. Hopefully she is a legal citizen.

Do not assume that these young parents are illegals. In the southwest, including California, not every hispanic is illegal. Some families have been here since the 1600s or 1700s, when this area was a Spanish colony. Do not assume they do not have insurance either, the story does not say.

I had a coworker whose preemie was only about a pound. I suspect many of you would have been saying the same had you read a story about that baby, as one parent was hispanic and one part hispanic, yet both parents were Amercan born, employed professionals, and they carried insurance.

In this case, we dont know. So can't we just forget all the speculation and wish them well, especially this precious little girl.

Tyler,

Don't know if you will see this, but was the one that insulted me suspended for a day? My response was just a reaction, and I did not really directly insult him, I just told him where to go. Hardly a code of honor violation, just defending my honor. I do not see that you suspended him for violating the "code of honor". Why not?

Alan290 -
If you actually read what Tylers reasoning was for suspending you, it had nothing to do with you insulting someone else. The code of honor that you violated was that you derailed the discussion.

whether this lady is one or not. Hopefully she is a legal citizen.

Facepalm. Phenomenal speculation derail about illegal immigration deleted, alan290, you're suspended for a day for violating #4 of the Code of Honor.

"Phenomenal speculation DERAIL about illegal immigration deleted." It had nothing to do with any insult you may have thrown at the person you were replying to.

Becca R,

I did not "derail the discussion", as you put it. I just added to it, as many did regarding the potential of this lady being an illegal citizen and/or not being able to pay for the medical care. I see they did not get suspended. Newsvine staff should at least be fair about it. And, I did not insult anyone.

It is not up to me to decide if you derailed the discussion. My point was that that was what you were suspended for. You were not suspended for insulting anyone. You were suspended for derailing the discussion.
How is one person getting suspended insulting someone the same as someone else getting suspended for derailing? They are not comparable.
Also, they dont have time to sit here and read every comment on every article. They get alerts when to many people mark them as inflammatory. They read those, and determine if the person should be suspended

Oh I agree that this is a wonderful story...I woke up this morning feeling so down, but this story has made my day. I feel so happy for this lucky little baby! god bless you pretty little Melinda!

I suggest we pray for the baby to be a normal human being. I am a parent of a special needs child.

I read a similar article a few days ago, I can't remember if it's the same baby, but I think the mother was hit with preeclampsia.

Uhg... preeclampsia, never a fun diagnosis. I was on 8 weeks bed rest because of that with my first. Praying I don't get it again.

My mother in law had my husband's younger brother early because of the placenta coming apart from the uterus. I was wondering if it was that or preeclampsia. Whatever the diagnosis, I'm so happy to finally read a feel-good story. Yay for babies! In the face, she looks like my lil newborn. Well, not so newborn. Almost two weeks old now. :)

@Headshaker, I'll pray you don't get it again. From what I hear, it's not fun. My midwife encouraged me the entire time to make sure I was eating plenty of protein, because that can help prevent it.

Congratulations Aimee, and enjoy your first Christmas!! :)

If she was that small, it was very likely IUGR (Intrauterine growth restriction), a condition in which cord blood flow slows, then stops, then reverses. Most 24-weekers are in the 1.5-lb range, so her smallness is likely due to that or something similar that restricted her growth.

The best bit is that she's coming home soon! That's so awesome.

Thanks Jm! :)

Aimee:

The same thing happened to my sister and she had her daughter 7 weeks early. My niece was 3 lbs, 9 oz when she was born, and I thought that was tiny! She's a beautiful, healthy 8 year old now. But those first few weeks, I was afraid I was going to break her, she was so tiny :)

I think my little brother in law was right around 4lbs when he was born, he was a good 6-7 weeks early too. He's not really little anymore, he's a tall lanky 17 year old with no issues aside from being a giant goofball. :)

Had a co-worker who had a baby that was almost this early a few years ago. Little guy was barely a pound and spent 4 months in the hospital. In fact, he got to go home just before Christmas that year. (His mommy's best present.) He is now a healthy bright preschooler. I hope this little girl does as well.

About 2 years ago, the same thing happened to my sister. The baby was also born at 24 weeks. My sister was distraught, as well as the rest of the family. I lost a nephew about 3 weeks after he was born. My sisters health was in jeopardy and her other 2 children we close to losing their mother and me close to losing a sister. I am thankful that she survived, yet sad that she had to suffer the loss of a child. I am thankful the doctors could save this baby. She is definitely a survivor and to those people who have nothing more to think about than the citizenship of the mother, shame on you!! Does it really matter the status of citizenship? What matters is that this baby was able to be saved, the mother was spared those horrible feelings and a horrible loss that would effect her for the rest of her life. I am thankful and I DO NOT care the status of her citizenship. I am a natural born citizen of the US, yet I am ALSO a mother. I was blessed to have healthy children. Now she is blessed to have her daughter.

I immediately thought the same thing. This baby is getting hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of specialized care, most likely at the taxpayer's expense. Meanwhile, I can't even get my insurance to pay for my child's asthma medication.

That's one very small, expensive baby. Just stating the facts ma'am.

They aren't facts though since you are guessing and assuming. For all you know, she could be a barrista at starbucks which has medical insurance and would cover this baby. I had an early, and also very expensive baby myself. Not quite as early, but his stay still cost about $250,000 for the 3 weeks he was in the NICU. We had insurance and it was completely covered. Thank goodness we didn't have any racist judging fools like you around to make us feel terrible.

I for one, hope Melinda keeps growing and beating the odds each day. She is going to have it tough with racist (and yes Kate, you are racist) jerks like Kate making assumptions about her and her family.

Wow, you're a real class act. So are poor children not "worth it" to you?

So the tiny baby should be left to die then? I'm cool with this as long as no body starts calling it a "hero". :)

You cannot place a price on life. God meant for her to be here.

Regardless of whether the mother was insured, the care provided to this child was paid for by others (taxpayer,other insureds via the insurance company, or the community as a whole through increased hospital prices).

I am happy for this family but there seems like there should be some limits on these types of efforts.

Seriously Kate? I think we need to change handles. Way to completely ruin a nice story there Negative Nancy.

I hope this little PRECIOUS miracle continues to thrive and beat the odds every single day of her life.

Meanwhile, I kinda hope Kate steps in mushy dog poo. I hope you never, ever have a baby that needs serious medical attention Kate. However, God forbid you do, I hope you have the insurance to cover it so you don't "waste" my hard earned tax dollars. Grinch.

No kidding. If my tax dollars are going somewhere, what better place to go than to ensure an innocent baby has a chance at life.

Darn right- if you can't afford it, you shouldn't get the care. We can't just take the responsibility to help people who can't help themselves; the weak should simply die and get out of the way of the strong. Stop spending taxpayer money to help people!

It's un-American, un-Christian and immoral to give assistance to poor people. They shouldn't be poor if they're going to need medical care; they made their choice to not have insurance or money to pay for their own care.

Have we no work houses?

I cannot believe you are assuming the mother has no health insurance much less a job! What is wrong with you people? Read the FULL STORY...mother was transferred from her local hospital to USC because the facility was better equipped to handle neonatal. Obviously you do not live in California so therefore you have NO IDEA what this hospital does or who it serves. Fricken idiots on here!!

CLICK ON THE BLUE "READ THE FULL STORY" ABOVE THE VIDEO ON THE RIGHT...

Kate, what a douche. I hope you don't have children.

Digest the facts people and stop covering up statistics.

So Katie, whats the price-tag of a child, of your child (if you have any)? Also, who is to say she never paid taxes? Which means she paid and/or her family paid into the system that may or may not be paying for the care of her child.

My daughter was born premature. She was born in a community hospital by choice, we had and still have insurance.

Anyway, I am happy to read the baby is doing well.. she still does have a long road ahead, coming home is one step, be it a very huge step.

Thank you USA098. Couldn't have said it better. Cyclometh you are truly a compassionless moron. By the way Merry Christmas.

To Mother and child, good luck and best wishes!!

pardon here, but mother, Hayee Ibarra, just 22 years old - child was born at county USC (where the indigent often end up) - I wonder, does the mother have insurance? I'm going to guess no, so guess what - the intensive, specialized, expensive neonatal care has been paid for by the tax payers. That's one very small, expensive baby. Just stating the facts ma'am.

Why do you think she doesnt have insurance? Because shes 22? Because of the hospital she went to? When I was 22, if I had a kid, no matter what hospital I went to, the baby would have been fully covered. I had insurance at 19, that would fully cover childbirth expenses, and everything for the baby.
At 17 I had great insurance also. I honestly don't know if EVERYTHING would have been covered, because I wasn't worried about having a baby at 17, but if it wasnt 100% it would have been most of the expenses, and I could have afforded the rest.

At any rate, who cares who paid for it? I sure as hell dont mind my tax dollars going to save an innocent baby. Better than some things it goes towards...

Regardless of whether the mother was insured, the care provided to this child was paid for by others (taxpayer,other insureds via the insurance company, or the community as a whole through increased hospital prices).

I am happy for this family but there seems like there should be some limits on these types of efforts.

There are limits. Its called viability. If the baby isn't viable, they wont save it (pretty much useless to do so) Obviously, this baby was viable. If she wasn't, it would have cost a lot less.
And yes, everyone else, in a sense, paid for the care of this child. Thats how insurance works. A lot of people consider insurance a scam for that very reason... BUT, when you get really sick, or are in a major accident, you will be glad you if insurance (if you do)

Insured people are paying for more of it than tax payers are.

lilrhody1951:

Cyclometh is referencing Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," not being a jerk (I trust).

Medical success stories happen every day, everywhere. Insured or not. Rich or poor. Rejoice that this family will be able to snuggle their little girl instead of mourning her loss.

Kate makes valid points and her comment should not have been collapsed by the community. Idiot liberals.

Once again Alan290, your think you have something to say. You couldn't be more wrong. STFU

What a beautiful story.

That said, I'm getting sick of having to share my country with soulless Conservatives who claim to be "pro life," but when it comes down to it, they don't give a rat's posterior about life, the well-being of others or anything except their wallets. I sure hope they have enough cash saved to put themselves into top-notch nursing homes when they are old and drooling and they're not going to rely on MY CHILDREN to support them. In their own words, they are "not worth it."

TraceyS-

Couldn't be farther from the truth. I am a fiscal conservative. Statistically conservatives give more than liberals to social causes and charities. The other difference is that conservatives see more efficient ways of helping the poor and needy than goverment programs. Human life is sacred and a miracle, this little child reminds us of that.

Alan, if you are a conservative and a Christian, then how can you in good concience tell someone to go to Hell? Doesn't sound very Christian, and you wonder why so many people don't like conservatives...

LadyC, (and that name is a misnomer if I ever saw one. You are obviously NOT a lady),

You STFU. I am not a racist, and you probably don't know what the word means, so you should probably look it up. Nothing I said would indicate that I am a racist. I am, however a realist and would like people to quit living off the government. We can't afford it anymore. All you liberals think the world owes you a living. Its sad. Again, this may not be the case with this lady and her situation, but what Kate says above is actually happening all across our country as women, without insurance get knocked up, repeatedly in many instances, and expect the government to pay for it all. Its a fact.

And Michael,

With comments like he made, that is exactly where he can go with them. Get over it. He could have been more tactful with his comment, and I, in turn would have been nicer with my response. The guy deserved it.

Alan290-

STFU? Nice "Christian" attitude you have there. You are just a person who hides behind religion to make yourself look good to others and feel better about your racism. Do you give to charities? ya know that money may go to help someone of another race or religion other than yours!! I truly hope that you one day will truly find GOD (whoever your God may be) and learn the TRUE meaning of LOVE for others race, religion or any other fault that you may find with people.

Maybe you should start with opening your eyes and mind while you read your bible. That would really turn on a light for you. You are a sad person who really needs to wake up.

BTW, I too am a realist. I have lived a different life and have climbed out of a hole to become who I am today. Being a realist, I KNOW that sometimes EVERYONE, not born into money may need a little help sometimes, just a fact of life. Who I think are the people living off of the government are the same people working in our congress and senate who are bilking our tax dollars to further their own wealth while forgetting the people who are providing the money they are stealing.

:) !!

so, do you have the most premature surviving baby?

My daughter ws born at 24 weeks and was 1lb10oz and will be three tues and is doing great. yes some small problems here and there but its fine. and its sad tht people automtically think someone doesnt have health insurance or it was a crack baby....i am a stay at hom mom and my hubby works 2 jobs we have medical but there is help from ssi for premature babies and the medical bills and if ur income is to high there is cursade for children....no matter if u have insurance or not they will halp babies that are born alive period. I thank my nicu team of drs and nurses and a quick acting obgyn bc My daughter Sophia will not have been turning 3 tuesday had they not been as good as they re.......

I couldn't imagine how terrifying that kind of experience must be, either for you, JayLove, or for Melinda's mother. Doctors can be miracle workers. I'm almost 19 weeks with my second, and I hope things go as well as they did the first time. *fingers crossed*

My son was a two pound twenty-nine weeker. He is now twelve and is autistic. Now, the autism is familial (my daughter and I have Asperger's Syndrome) but we just don't know the extent of the damage that the prematurity causes. Just remember, while I understand that everyone is oohing and aahing at this story, prematurity comes with a price for most children. My son was what was termed a "feeder/grower". He just needed to mature and gain weight. He was in the NICU for fifty-nine days and cost in the neighborhood of $300K twelve years ago. This child is costing in the neighborhood of a million in healthcare dollars and, like someone pointed out, they have trouble just getting their child asthma meds. And she is not nearly out of the woods when it comes to healthcare costs. In these times when so many are forced to go without medical care, how is it that this one child is accruing millions of dollars in care? Please don't misunderstand.....I am not saying poor children are less deserving. But there are so many poor children who are going without and this one poor infant who, really, should have not been saved int he first place, is getting Cadillac care. This has been an ongoing debate.......where do we draw the line with premature infants? And I am saying this AS a mom of a preemie.

hollywoodunderground-How would you feel if someone told you that your premature son should not have been saved? My son was also a 29 weeker,and it pisses me off that you would say something like that.EVERY child deserves to be saved.Just because your child costs a lot to care for doesn't mean that all preemies do.It sounds more like resent your son than anything else..So because this child costs money to care for,you think they should have let her die? Perhaps they should with hold health care for you if you ever need it to survive.We could do without your heartlessness,but for all you know,this is the person that will cure cancer,or do any number of amazing things for humanity.You,on the other hand.....obviously not.

@jlfrueh no the worlds most premature baby was born at a 21 week 5days gestation.

My daughter has to be among a small handful born in 1996 or earlier that is alive and thriving without mental or physical health issues today. There are many new bio-technical and medical advancements that now exist but my daughter did not have access to them in the mid 90's. A mother's womb is always best and I admire these small children for fighting for their lives to be with all of us!! Hopefully they can be loved enough during their lifetime to forget the pain they endured in the hospital.

I can't believe you hollywoodunderground. Coming from somebody who is special needs yourself, along with two children who are also in the same boat as yourself, all I can think is WTF is wrong with you? Seriously. I'm so glad your parents deemed you "worthy" to survive

How dare you say this baby shouldn't have survived. Who in God's good name do you think you are?!?!?

And that goes for any of you who think this baby is a drain on society.

My son was born 10 weeks early. He was in the NICU for 7 weeks. We have only received the first round of billing, Over $400,000 so far.

There are no decisions made, they try and save all babies. There were 30 babies in the NICU at the hospital we were at. Parents ranged from crack addicts to business professionals. At that point nobody cared how much money you had, only doing whatever possible to save your kids life. A few babies unfortunately died, however the success rate is remarkably high.

My thoughts are with your son, I am so happy to hear he had the best care possible. It's not about money, it's about saving a childs life!!

Bobby, at one point, hospitals had a standard. If a baby weighed over a certain weight, they resuscitated. Under the weight, they let nature take it's course. It had to be done because extremely low-birthweight babies have very low chances of having good outcomes. They end up having a lifetime of health problems.

I actually had twins daughters born on Tiara's birthday (my preemie) exactly one year to the day before she was born. They were 20 weeks along and the doctors told me they couldn't be saved. They were born 7-9-1995 and Tiara my 23 weeker was born 7-9-1996. The doctors tried reminding me about my twins and tried to get me to end Tiara's life saying she had a 1% chance of surviving and that she would probably be very disabled because of the lack of ability and resources to help her stay alive at the time. They said I shouldn't resuscitate her after they removed her from my body via c-section. However, I decided if there was a chance it was in God's hands to decide and not mine so I made them save her life. I had Kaiser Insurance and the bills costed over 1million dollars after a 4 month hospital stay and a few follow-up visits to the hospital as well as therapy after she came home. It was worth it because she is priceless. BTW: The reason I was having babies too early was my issue and not my children's and there is a treatment for it. Subsequently I have had a full-term baby due to the extra treatment I received and now I have two beautiful girls!

Hollywood..., I completely understand your comment and agree that medical professionals sometimes know how to save the life of a baby, but they can't always prevent the profound and lifelong medical issues those babies sometimes have as a result.

Nature probably intended for this baby to be a miscarriage, and I'm not really sure the doctors acted wisely in even trying to save her. To say that she's "doing fine" is ridiculous. There is no way to know at this point what extremely difficult disabilities she may live with her whole life.

And sentimentality aside, we simply cannot ignore the societal consequences of spending enormous amounts of money on any one person in a health care system. You can argue all you want that it's brutal, but it's a real issue that must be addressed by ethicists and the citizens who pay for this kind of care.

The fact is, she's beautiful and she is here. She is truly a medical miracle and I hope she has a long and healthy life. Even if she has developmental problems (and my guess is that she will), I hope that her family embraces her as the precious human she is. As the mother of a child with significant disabilities, I know the very real and painful reality of raising a child with medical issues; I also know the joy of having her in my life.

Thank you.

Fran,

You have to understand that there are people here that never have anything good to say about anyone, or any situation. All I can say is I'm glad I'm not one of the uber cynical around here. What a sad way to live your all too short life.

Money/Insurance is something you need to worry about. It is a perfectly normal subject to discuss in this situation.

Fran Amen!

Bobby,

If you are ever in that situation (or your loved one is) I hope you take your same advise and discuss the payment options before the doctors begin saving the baby.

Do you really believe that the cost of medical bills has never crossed her mother's mind in the past 14 weeks, not even once? Seriously? Yes, it is amazing that this child survived, and it's wonderful that she's grown so well and going home soon. I don't think anyone here is denying that this is a true medical wonder and that it's a precious gift to her family. But I also don't think it's unreasonable to consider the costs involved as well - even if you would do absolutely nothing different.

Excellent Ga Girl, well said (metaphorically speaking)!

Amen!

Amen!

God is the only giver and taker of life. That's not up to any human.

How about just bringing down the medical costs? Is that too logical?

Your user name says it all... Then again if you are a Palin supporter, wouldnt you be rejoicing that the life was saved? Or is it just "make sure you have that unborn baby" but "dont expect me to pay for its care"?

Wow... That was extremely dumb...

I'd say money well spent for a lovely baby and a caring mother.

kamity,

Well, why don't you send a big fat check and help pay for the baby then. The cost is going to be in the hundreds of thousands, I am sure, and if they have no insurance, or inadequate insurance, the taxpayers are going to have to pay for it in the end. This simply must stop.

Well we paid for Bristel's out of wedlock baby so what's one more.

....and yours is an all-too-prevalent game played these days by people who declare themselves either "sensitive" or "totally politically correct" and stare down and shame people of sense who are born with the burden of seing all sides of the situation instantaneously, and are probably paying more of the bill WHILE caring for their children just as much as some gushing, short-sighted. Nobody's "looking down the nose" at anyone: and to others who've chimed in along the way, yes, we were all immigrants at one time unless we're the indigenous American from whom the place was stolen! THAT'S NOT THE POINT! We must control immigration. We must have some sensible criteria of using extreme measures for recussitation, for humans on the way in and the way out. Med-science has soared, but can leave a vegetable because it can stimulate or prolong life! Great healing is available, but the cost is astronomical. You're obviously as short sighted as the residents of Alice-in-Wonderland's teaparty. One circles onto the original dirty dish or unpaid bill or resided-upon space inevitably!

yeah, and while we're at it, we should divert all the money away from the care of the nation's senior citizens too, because that is astronominal and we don't get anything in return for caring for them either. I mean, after all, they are going to die anyway right? That may seem harsh, but letting your mother die is a reality we have to face.

How about bringing down the cost of health care? No reason it has to continue to rise.

How do you know it is so little in return? For all you know Melinda could go on to find a cure for cancer, or AIDS or be the next Steve Jobs. How do you put a value, or rather lack of value, on the life of anyone, especially one that has yet to show us what they can be?

My mother spent 18 years in the ICU over the summer before she passed away and I assure you, the cost of her medical care (yes, she had insurance) never once entered into our minds when we were deciding her end of life care.

natedom:

18 years?

Wow, quite the typo, no, she spent 18 days in the ICU.

I was gonna say, holy moly natedom.. what hospital did you go to where they keep someone in ICU for 18 years?!?

I am sorry for your loss though.

I am so sorry for your loss Sue.

I agree. I think they could have gone a little further in the story. This baby girl surviving is definitely a miracle... I do wish they would've taken the opportunity to discuss issues related to prematurity (ie developmental delays, ROP, etc). The story of the baby coming home is huge- it just doesnt end there.

WOW that was the most awesome example of a sweepingly broad generalization I have ever seen. No, "most babies" born this early are not blind. Your one student is not a representative sample.

From the National Eye Institute's webpage on ROP:

"about 28,000 [of the 3.9 million preterm infants born in the US each year] weigh 2¾ pounds or less. About 14,000–16,000 of these infants are affected by some degree of ROP. The disease improves and leaves no permanent damage in milder cases of ROP. About 90 percent of all infants with ROP are in the milder category and do not need treatment. However, infants with more severe disease can develop impaired vision or even blindness. About 1,100–1,500 infants annually develop ROP that is severe enough to require medical treatment. About 400–600 infants each year in the US become legally blind from ROP."

Five percent is still far too high but does not constitute "most." Also, size is not always an indicator of gestational age. 24-weekers usually weigh about twice as much or more than this little one. Her size is not an indicator of how developed her organs are. Your 14oz student may have been not quite as developed, even at about 50% bigger. In general, girls have a better prognosis that boys. There are a zillion factors. None of which add up to "most."

30 seconds on Wikipedia and a calculator. Seriously.

I like your willingness to do research, but please, next time you do, don't use wikipedia. It's not a reliable resource. It's like the 4chan of research.

I never use Wikipedia as a single source for that very reason. Since I quoted from the National Eye Institute's website directly, you should assume that I followed the Wiki links to more reputable sources, which is what I always do when researching anything. It's a great way to jump off to those other sources.