focus on health
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Teamwork Helps Give Baby
Gift of Sight
Castiel Haywood was born at Katz Women’s Hospital in January at 23 weeks old.
More than four months premature, he weighed about one pound at birth. He needed medical help that included work to repair his retinas, which had not developed normally. Castiel had stage five severe closed funnel total retinal detachments — a severe, blinding eye condition. Without eye surgery, he would not even be able to see light, explained Philip Ferrone, MD, the ophthalmologist who performed the procedure three weeks before Castiel’s previously anticipated birthdate.
Time was of the essence. To get the best possible care from eye specialists, Castiel was transported to Syosset Hospital from Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park to have his eye surgeries, traveling by ambulance in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) incubator. His transport team included a NICU nurse, neonatologist, respiratory therapist and pediatric anesthesiologist.
One challenge when performing surgery on such a young baby is the tiny size of the eyes and orbits — about half those of adults. Nonetheless, Syosset Hospital’s highly skilled team was able to use state-of-the-art instrumentation to help Castiel obtain vision.
“There was a tremendous amount of teamwork,” said Louise Esposito, Syosset ophthalmology nurse manager, who was part of Castiel’s team. “I felt as if I had worked with this team forever, that’s how smooth his operation was.”
The surgery performed on both eyes took about three hours. Castiel’s family received frequent updates from Ms. Esposito.
“Everyone made us feel so comfortable at the hospitals,” said Tuly Marenco, Castiel’s mother. “And now, after the eye surgery, he has been looking around.”
Dr. Ferrone said of the operation, “This surgery gave the baby the best chance of having maximal vision.”
Castiel Haywood with his mother, Tuly Marenco, and his father, Rudolph Haywood.
Make an Appointment for Car Seat 101
Once a month, Plainview Hospital in cooperation with Safe Kids Nassau County hosts free car seat safety checks in the hospital parking lot or at the Plainview Fire Department across the street. These events provide parents opportunities to ensure their children are riding as safely as possible.
“Safe Kids-certified child passenger safety technicians verify that seats are installed properly, children are buckled in correctly and products haven’t been recalled,” said Nicole Santora, community relations liaison at Plainview Hospital. “Put simply, car seat checks make children safer.”
The technicians’ stipends are courtesy of Safe Kids and the van used at these events is from a grant from GM for Safe Kids Car Seat Check Up Programs.
