CHRISTUS Health Shreveport-Bossier - LiveWell

Saving Grace Saving Grace A Grand Mother As the wife of a former Army soldier, Terri Peterson doesn't surrender to circumstance; she focuses on getting the job done, no matter what. While Terri's granddaughter, Isabella Grace Falcone, received three months of inpatient medical care for issues related to her pre-term birth, Terri became a helper, sounding board, source of encouragement, pillar of strength and more for her daughter, Rachel Falcone. "I didn't have time to process things; I just knew this baby had to live," Terri says. "I was there for Rachel every minute. I encouraged her, prayed with her, allowed her to express herself, fed her and did her laundry. God's amazing grace allowed us to function. "To this day, Rachel and I do everything together, from going to doctor's appointments to sharing night feeding duties," Terri continues. "I thank God I've been given the health and ability to be a servant to my precious daughter and granddaughter." Burdened with grief and stress caused by the recent passing of her husband, an Air Force serviceman, Rachel Falcone of Bossier City went for a routine pregnancy checkup on June 1, 2014. During the appointment, the strain caused her to enter labor. Her baby, at 23 weeks gestation, was well short of the full-term threshold of 40 weeks. "It took a while for my family and me to wrap our minds around the fact that our baby was about to be born," Rachel says. "Isabella Grace was born on June 2 at about 2 a.m. weighing one pound, seven ounces." MEETING EVERY CHALLENGE The neonatal transport team transferred Isabella to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at CHRISTUS Health Shreveport- Bossier, where she remained for 96 days. She faced a host of problems, including underdeveloped lungs that required ventilator support, a hole in a heart valve that needed medication to close and retinopathy of prematurity, an eye issue for which she briefly had to visit a specialist in Dallas for treatment. "We kept praying that Isabella would turn a corner, and she finally did," Rachel says. "Then, we just had to wait for her to grow and learn how to regulate her temperature and breathe correctly. We felt extremely blessed to be at a faith-based hospital. The individuals on the NICU team were concerned, encouraging, knowledgeable and Christ- centered. Their embracing of the spiritual and physical aspects of care was just what we needed." A HEART WARMING HANDFUL On September 5, 2014, Isabella finally got to go home. Now a year old, she's slowly gaining weight and strength. "Isabella is feisty, loud, ticklish, challenging and a joy," Rachel says. "She is a miracle, truly a gift from God that we will never take for granted." As a Children's Miracle Network Hospital, CHRISTUS Health Shreveport- Bossier is committed to helping children get the best start at life, particularly when they require complex care. For information about giving birth at our hospitals visit christushealthsb.org. Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving Saving individuals on the NICU team Isabella finally got to go home. The toughest member of the Falcone/Peterson family is also thesmallest. 3 LiveWell | Summer 2015

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