University of Iowa Preemie is a World Record Miracle!

We've done our radiothon at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital for over two decades. During that time, we've heard countless stories about how the hospital saved a child's life. One of the outstanding areas at the hospital is the NICU, where the smallest of babies begin their life a little earlier than expected. Including baby Nash.

Mollie Keen got tough news during her 20-week checkup. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that doctors discovered that Mollie was two centimeters dilated. She was just halfway through a typical 40-week pregnancy. Mollie and her husband had already suffered through a miscarriage in 2023 and feared they would lose their baby boy. That is when she got word about what the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital was doing for preemies.

The University of Iowa is one of the few hospitals that will care for a baby born at just 21 weeks, according to the Gazette. They have cared for more than 20 such babies, with seven surviving. For babies born at 22 weeks, the survival rate jumps to 65%.

So on July 5th, 2024, the exact 21-week date, Mollie gave birth to little Nash Keen. The Gazette reports his arrival was a Guinness World record for the most premature baby. He was rushed to the NICU, weighing just 10 ounces.

According to the Gazette, doctors told Mollie and her husband Randall, that the survival chance was zero. No baby had ever survived at just 21 weeks and zero days. But thanks to the amazing U of I team, Nash escaped major complications. No brain bleeds and only a minor heart defect, which doctors say will get better with time, according to the Gazette. 

The Gazette reports that after spending 189 days in the hospital, Nash got to go home in January. While he has more surgeries and hospital visits in his future, it is believed that he'll be a normal kindergartner when he starts school in a few years.

A walking miracle.