Ayden Szallar is pictured with his sister at Disney World.
Nicole Szallar is so thankful that Penn State Health Children’s Hospital saved her life and the life of her son that she drove five hours from her home near Erie for the birth of her second child and returns yearly for her own care at Penn State Health Medical Group – Camp Hill Specialties.
“I will forever return to Hershey,” she said.
Szallar struggled with severe nausea and vomiting while pregnant with her son, Ayden, five years ago and was in and out of hospitals because of it. She became very ill while visiting her mom in Camp Hill and was admitted to Penn State Health Children’s Hospital. Worsening symptoms and an ultrasound led to a diagnosis of preeclampsia with abnormal symptoms.
She remembers a doctor coming into her room and saying, “I have about five minutes before I lose them both.”
“I have no doubt that had I remained at home, neither I nor Ayden would be alive,” she said.
After an emergency cesarean section, Ayden arrived at 2 pounds, 7 ounces, and would spend the next eight weeks in the hospital’s Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. For the first week, Szallar and her husband were unable to hold or touch him, except through the portholes on the incubator.
He received shots to develop his lungs and was nourished through a feeding tube. As Ayden continued to improve, he was moved to the continuing care nursery after about four weeks. Shortly before discharge, the care team discovered he needed hernia surgery, adding a week to his stay.
Throughout the ups and downs of the hospital stay, Szallar said the one constant was the NICU care team.
“As we came and went throughout the day, they always ensured we were well informed. They knew exactly what they were doing and had no fear of caring for these teeny, tiny humans,” she said. “We appreciated having the ability to talk with the doctors multiple times a day. We learned the medical jargon, and they were very transparent about any concerns.”
It’s that care, Szallar said, that keeps bringing her back to the Children’s Hospital, despite the lengthy drive.