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Children's book about life with a preemie dedicated to OSMH nurse

Efforts of staff in NICU applauded; Orillia nurse 'went above and beyond her expected duties to save a preemie’s life – my baby girl,' says author

Welcoming a premature baby to the world can be a challenge for not just the new parents, but also siblings left at home wondering what is occurring.

That foray into the “preemie” world is one Parry Sound children’s author Alhan Rahimi tries to capture in her book My Preemie Sister is One, which illustrates her newborn’s experience at Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) through the eyes of her three-year-old sister Hala.

“She was seven weeks early,” Rahimi said, referring to Raneem’s birth in May 2018 after she was rushed to the hospital in Parry Sound and then transferred to OSMH.

Rahimi said she and her husband Varqa Kanani were impressed with the level of care and attention they received at OSMH. Within hours of arriving, Rahimi was rushed to the operating room and put to sleep to have her baby.

“I wasn't sure if I would wake up after this C-section or if my baby would have made it,” she recounted. “I was lucky and blessed each and every step of the way and we're both here today.”

Often, families mark the probable birth date on their calendar and continue going about their daily lives. But that can change in an instant (as Rahimi and Kanani discovered) when that “probable” birth date jumps unexpectedly forward several weeks.

“It was absolutely new to me,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect.”

Rahimi said she quickly learned that preemies don’t like to be rubbed when held and don’t know how to coordinate breathing, swallowing and suckling milk, which is why they’re often fed through a tube in their nose in the beginning.

According to a 2017 federal government release, about 390,000 babies are born in Canada annually with most reaching the average 40 weeks of gestation normally required for full growth and development. However, roughly 8% are born prematurely – at 37 weeks or less.

“These premature babies face serious complications and are at higher risk of developing chronic health conditions later in life,” the release stated. “Even more serious, preterm birth accounts for two-thirds of infant deaths in Canada.”

While Rahimi now has two healthy daughters, she wanted to write the story with illustrations by Anahit Aleksanyan to mark Raneem’s first birthday and the role Hala has played in it since those early days at OSMH.

“The staff was amazing,” said Rahimi, who dedicated the book to NICU nurse Heather Murphy, “who went above and beyond her expected duties to save a preemie’s life – my baby girl – and always had a way of making parents smile in even the most difficult of times.

“It was great and the level of care was amazing. I could see the nurses treated the children as if they were their own.”

But while Rahimi was fortunate enough to be able to rent an unoccupied bed in a hospital courtesy room normally reserved for one-night stays by new mothers, she said Orillia should find a solution to help other out-of-town mothers whose preemies must stay in hospital.

“Some had to go all the way back and forth to Huntsville,” she said. “They’re not getting enough (parental) skin-to-skin contact. She (Raneem) was discharged at 36 weeks and she got lots of skin-to-skin contact.”


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Andrew Philips

About the Author: Andrew Philips

Editor Andrew Philips is a multiple award-winning journalist whose writing has appeared in some of the country’s most respected news outlets. Originally from Midland, Philips returned to the area from Québec City a decade ago.
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