Born 11 weeks prematurely, Rylee Freeman shows her strength, growing from a 2-pound baby to a thriving 2-year-old
Becoming parents was a bumpy road for Vanessa and Jaison Freeman. After four rounds of intrauterine insemination (IUI), they felt blessed to be expecting a little girl. However, at the beginning of the third trimester, they learned that Vanessa’s high-risk pregnancy grew increasingly riskier.
“At the beginning of my pregnancy, I was pregnant with twins. Unfortunately, in the middle of my first trimester, we lost one of our babies, which already made my pregnancy high risk,” Vanessa says. “But my age and being that I’m a black woman made my pregnancy even higher risk.”
This meant that the obstetrics-gynecology (OB-GYN) and maternal-fetal medicine (MFM) teams at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN), part of Jefferson Health, were working together to closely monitor Vanessa throughout her pregnancy, conducting more frequent and in-depth scans. It’s because of this close monitoring that what could have ended in heartbreak ultimately resulted in a very happy ending.
A big discovery
At 28 weeks pregnant, Vanessa and Jaison went to MFM for a 3D scan – during which the MFM team made an unexpected discovery. The Freeman’s baby was tracking significantly smaller than she should for her gestational age.
Because of a placenta abruption – a serious pregnancy complication where the placenta separates from the uterine wall before the baby is born – their daughter wasn’t receiving the nutrients she needed, and as a result was nearly four weeks behind on her growth. The severity of this complication put both Vanessa’s health and her daughter’s life at risk. Vanessa would have to spend the rest of her pregnancy at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest for monitoring.
Holding onto hope in the hospital
After arriving at the hospital, Vanessa was given a steroid shot to help with her daughter’s lung development. It was then just a matter of waiting while closely monitoring Vanessa and the baby. “We were playing a game of how much time can we give our daughter before the decision has to be made to deliver,” Vanessa says.
A week and a day later, things took a turn for the worse, and the Freemans were told it was time to deliver.
“It seemed like the fetal condition was deteriorating rapidly, and the greatest fear is stillbirth,” says maternal fetal medicine specialist William Scorza, MD, with LVPG Maternal Fetal Medicine. “We can treat prematurity, and we can treat respiratory distress and premature babies, but you can’t treat stillbirth. So, it was really expediting the delivery and getting that baby to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where they could provide the care the baby needed.”
On Aug. 4, 2023, at 5:19 p.m., Rylee Morgan Freeman was born, weighing just 2 pounds. She was rushed a few floors up to Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital’s Level IV NICU.
Navigating the NICU
Thankfully, Rylee had a pretty “straightforward” stay in the NICU, reaching the most important milestones – from needing continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) breathing support, then transitioning to a cannula and then room air, to coming out of the Isolette, to eating without a feeding tube.
“It was really hard coming home from the hospital without her,” Vanessa says. “But knowing we had such dedicated, professional, kind people watching over her every day made a tough situation a lot more manageable. We are so grateful for the NICU staff that cared for Rylee as if she were their own.”
On Oct. 9, 2023, after spending 66 days in the NICU and weighing just over 5 pounds, Rylee was cleared to go home.
Living in Rylee’s world
Today, Rylee – whose name was chosen as a nod to “Reilly” Children’s Hospital and “Riley” Road behind the maternal fetal medicine office where Vanessa received her high-risk pregnancy care – is now 2 years old and full of life. Small but mighty, Rylee is strong, fearless, and never stops moving. She loves making her family laugh and continues to exemplify her strength every day.
The Freemans are grateful for the care they received through Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital and the MFM team.
“We would like to say to Dr. Scorza and the NICU team, thank you. That doesn’t feel like enough to express the gratitude for the care, consideration, and kindness they’ve given us, and continue to give the other families and us in the NICU,” Vanessa says. “To them it’s work, but to us it’s our life, our story forever, and I hope they know they leave an imprint on the folks that come through.”
It’s this gratitude that inspired Vanessa to give back, which she does by volunteering for Today Is a Good Day – a program designed specifically for families in the NICU, providing them with the support they truly need – helping host their monthly support group, Navigating the NICU.
“You can’t quite get what it’s like to have a baby in the NICU unless you’re in it,” Vanessa says. “And when I do the Navigating the NICU sessions and share that my daughter was here two years ago and is now thriving, you see it brings other families hope in a moment that’s so uncertain and can feel so hopeless. And if I can do that for other families, then I consider it a good day.”
