MATTHEWS, N.C. — What began as a life-threatening emergency for an Indian Trail family ended with a healthy baby heading home. When Bryanna Ayres suffered a placental abruption in April, doctors rushed her into an emergency C-section at Novant Health Matthews Medical Center, where a newly expanded Level III NICU was able to care for her son, Langston, who was born 10 weeks premature.
“I have never prayed so hard in my life,” said Levi Ayres, father.
“In a blink of an eye, everything changed really quick,” Bryanna Ayres said. “They told us in a matter of five minutes, you both wouldn’t be here.”
Langston needed a lot of medical attention once he was born, treatment that in the past would’ve sent him straight to Presbyterian’s NICU in Charlotte.
“We had just learned that morning that they were able to take 28-week babies, so we were 30 weeks, so that made the cut,” Bryanna Ayres said.
“We were ready in January, but he didn’t show up until a few months later. He was our first Level III,” said Sara Mayse, NICU Nurse/ Novant Health Matthews Medical Center.
The Level III NICU status is a new designation at Novant Health Matthews that requires additional training and supplies.
Before Jan. 1, the hospital could only handle babies born at a minimum of 32 weeks.
“We’ve had to train our respiratory therapists for younger babies, and the nurse practitioners and neonatologists have had to adjust to a different patient load than what we had before,” Mayse said.
The Ayres have three other kids at home. They said having Langston at the hospital, only 20 minutes away, made things a lot easier.
Langston spent two months recovering in the hospital and is now home with the rest of the family.
“He loves milk,” his mom said. “He’s putting on the pounds.”
The family said they appreciate the hospital staff for helping them get to that milestone.
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