The De Los Santos family prepares to bring home their micro-preemie son Benny, emphasizing the strength and community of NICU families.CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After more than 100 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), a micro preemie born at just 1 pound, 1 ounce is preparing to go home with his parents, who have spent every day at his bedside since his unexpected arrival in May.Benny De Los Santos was born at 25 weeks of gestation on May 25 at Novant Health, measuring just 10 ½ inches long. His parents, Alexis...
The De Los Santos family prepares to bring home their micro-preemie son Benny, emphasizing the strength and community of NICU families.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — After more than 100 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), a micro preemie born at just 1 pound, 1 ounce is preparing to go home with his parents, who have spent every day at his bedside since his unexpected arrival in May.
Benny De Los Santos was born at 25 weeks of gestation on May 25 at Novant Health, measuring just 10 ½ inches long. His parents, Alexis and Juan De Los Santos, say doctors described him as the sickest baby on the NICU floor at the time.
"I was rushed on an ambulance down to the emergency room and it all happened so fast—it was just a blur," Alexis De Los Santos said. "Meeting him for the first time through glass with all those wires was overwhelming."
The first-time parents faced additional challenges when Alexis spent three days in the ICU herself before being able to meet her son. Registered nurse Hannah Schelling, whom the family calls Benny's "work mom," recalled the emotional moment when Alexis first saw her baby.
"She came down in her hospital gown, teary-eyed, but determined," Schelling said. "As nurses, we get to give back to both the babies and their parents, and that makes all the difference."
Benny's journey has included 10 blood transfusions and ongoing respiratory problems. Juan De Los Santos said his focus in those early days was remaining strong for his family.
"I knew that my wife needed me and my son needed me to be my rock and to have unwavering faith," he said.
The couple said they drew strength from meeting other NICU families facing similar challenges. "Even though it's the first time you're meeting them, there's an unspoken understanding," Juan De Los Santos said.
Benny now weighs nearly 5 pounds and is expected to be discharged soon. His mother said he has made significant progress, particularly with breathing on his own.
"He's doing a lot on his own now, especially with breathing," Alexis De Los Santos said. "That's huge."
For Juan De Los Santos, taking his son home represents a long-awaited milestone. "It means the whole world to me. We finally get to start planning our future and watch our son grow into a great human being."
The family's story comes during NICU Awareness Month in September, which recognizes premature and critically ill newborns and the families who support them through extended hospital stays.