Mother, baby home from long hospital stay
LEAVING ICU — Pictured above, left to right: seated – Laura Hill, in wheelchair, was surrounded by family members as she was moved from the ICU at Baptist Hospital to a regular room during her 40-day hospital stay; standing – aunt Glenna Shook, mother Tammy Lackey, aunt Pamela Guins, and grandmother Anna Pitts.
By MICAH HENRY
Imagine waking up and feeling like you can’t breathe — that’s what happened to Hiddenite resident Laura Hill on January 6, when she was 29 weeks pregnant. Laura was rushed to Catawba Valley Medical Center and then to Baptist Wake Forest Atrium Health in Winston-Salem.
Doctors learned she was suffering from MRSA pneumonia and feared she could not sustain herself and the unborn baby. She was put on a ventilator and a chaplain was called in to minister to Laura — they didn’t expect her to make it.
Doctors delivered her baby boy, Christian, the next day via emergency Caesarean section. The newborn was put on a ventilator as well.
Fluid had filled Laura’s lungs, doctors learned from X-ray images. There was about 400 cubic centimeters of fluid in one lung.
“The Lord definitely brought us through this,” Laura said.
Eventually, her condition improved and she was removed from the ventilator.
“I met my baby for the first time when he was 11 days old,” Laura told The Times.
The mother of three would go on to spend 40 days in the hospital. Christian’s stay was 67 days.
Family and friends rallied around Laura and baby Christian.
With Laura incapacitated for several days early in her hospital stay, for the first meal she was able to eat after her admission, family members were present. Prior to the meal, while saying the blessing, Laura’s mother, Tammy Lackey, said, “His name should be Christian.” And thus, the name stuck.
Christian Hill during his stay in the hospital.
Laura’s older children are 19-month-old son Elon and 12 year old son Isaiah.
A stay-at-home mom, Laura is thankful to be home with baby Christian, her husband, and children. “Both of us are miracles,” Laura said of herself and the newborn.
The tricuspid valve in Laura’s heart was damaged due to the MRSA pneumonia, she said. She will eventually have to have open heart surgery to repair the valve.
With multiple doctor visits necessary in the near future for both Laura and Christian, the family hopes the community can help them with providing transportation.
She hopes that $4,000 can be raised so the family can purchase a car to travel to Winston-Salem and back for the repeat doctor appointments.
To accomplish this, Millersville Baptist Church (where Laura attends) has agreed to collect donations for the fund. Those wanting to assist may mail a check to Millersville Baptist Church, 130 Millersville Church Road, Taylorsville, NC 28681. Alternatively, donations may be made to Laura Leigh Hill in care of the State Employees’ Credit Union in Taylorsville.
