Silvia Gomez

I joined the movement to honor my son Evan, who was a micro preemie. 

My son was born in 2022 at just 26 weeks, weighing only 18 ounces. At our 20-week sonogram appointment, my husband and I were given the news that there was IUGR, due to issues with the placenta that was causing our son to not receive constant and enough nutrients. I started getting 2-3 ultrasounds a week, so that my son could be closely monitored and ensure nutrients were not being reversed.  At week 24, I was admitted to the hospital because I developed severe preeclampsia. And at 26.1 weeks, I was scheduled for a c-section after an ultrasound revealed that my son was no longer receiving any nutrients. 

Our son spent 118 days in the NICU. While in the NICU, he underwent a series of exams and tests. He did not have any brain bleeds but did develop anemia and required a blood transfusion one week after he was born. Because his neonatologists were so proactive, they informed my husband and I that there was a possibility our son would need a blood transfusion. My husband was the perfect match and was able to donate blood that same day, so by the time our son needed it, the hospital had it ready.  Shortly after the blood transfusion, our son developed a skin infection that required antibiotics for ten days. Our son also developed Retinopathy of prematurity, ROP, from the oxygen he needed to survive. He was on oxygen from the moment he was born, until a few months after he was discharged from the NICU. He was discharged with an oxygen tank and required oxygen 24/7 for three months after his discharge. While in the NICU, our son had genetic testing done, as his medical team wanted to know what may have caused the IUGR. It as compared to both my husband and I as well, however results were negative and did not provide an answer as to the IUGR.

After his discharge from the NICU, our son was seen by his pulmonologist monthly until his first birthday, even after he no longer required oxygen, to monitor the scarring in his lungs caused by the oxygen. He was also seen by a general surgeon, who repaired a hernia at 8mos old. He saw his cardiologist annually until last year, to monitor a PDA and VSD that was found while in utero. Both appeared closed during his last appointment in 2025. He also saw his ophthalmologist, who started examining and monitoring the development of ROP while in the NICU, every 3 months until last year. He had laser eye surgery to repair the abnormal blood vessels in the eyes at 7mos old and has not had any major issues since. He will continue to see his ophthalmologist and optometrist, now twice a year, and will wears glasses for the rest of his life. 

Today our son is two months shy of his fourth birthday. It is miraculous to see that our son is doing so well. He received occupational, physical and speech therapies, as well as early intervention childhood education the first three years of his life, which truly helped him catch up with his development. He is now in preschool and continues to receive speech therapy. He is a strong, resilient, curious, smart, happy, highly energetic, playful boy, who enjoys playing with other children and loves everything Disney and his LA Dodgers. He is by far the strongest human I have ever known, in such a small body. 

I know that not everyone is as blessed as we have been to have receive such great medical care from the moment I was pregnant, to our son's NICU stay, and his post-NICU needs. We are blessed to have had such an attentive, professional, knowledgeable and caring team of doctors and specialists at Kaiser Baldwin Park, Kaiser Downey and Kaiser Los Angeles (Sunset). From the perinatologist to the neonatologist, pulmonologist, cardiologist, general surgeon, ophthalmologist and currently his pediatrician, the entire team really came together to ensure my health and safety, as well as that of our son's.