Zariah Donovan
USA- Zariah Donovan: A Premature Miracle
- A Delicate Start
- A Journey towards Healing
- Overcoming the Odds
- A Last Chance at Redemption
- A New Home with New Challenges
- Medical Expenses and Future Support
Zariah Donovan: A Premature Miracle
Born prematurely at just 23 weeks and six days in September 2015, Zariah Donovan spent the first three years and four months of her life in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Prematurely born Zariah spent the first three years of her life in the hospital, where she was on life support and had multiple surgeries to repair her heart and lungs.
A Delicate Start
During her time in the NICU, Zariah developed such severe lung disease that doctors gave her parents, Shaun and Vilaivone, a near-zero chance of survival. Too frail to be sent home, she also couldn't receive the care she needed at any medical centers near her parents' home. Shaun learned about a specialized program at the Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio, 17,000 miles away. He reached out, and the hospital agreed to admit his infant daughter.
A Journey towards Healing
Through years of physical, occupational, and speech therapy, Donovan's lungs gradually strengthened. To their immense joy, she was finally discharged from the hospital. Shaun quit his job to be by Zariah's side, while Vilaivone remained in Sandy, Utah, with their older daughter, Reyven, who is now four.
"Not being able to see her for almost three years was really tough. Part of me was scared that she would forget me," Vilaivone said.
It had been a long and emotionally draining ordeal for the couple, who initially didn't think their daughter would survive her first birthday.
Overcoming the Odds
Born weighing just 1 pound 5 ounces at a Salt Lake City hospital, Donovan had a 15% chance of surviving due to her extreme prematurity, according to a GoFundMe page set up for her.
Doctors told Zariah's parents that she would likely face lifelong developmental and physical disabilities, including cerebral palsy and vision problems. She underwent open-heart surgery at just three weeks old, endured 12 blood transfusions, survived sepsis, and had multiple bouts of pneumonia.
In April 2016, at seven months old, Zariah was diagnosed with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a type of chronic lung disease usually caused by prolonged use of ventilators with high concentrations of oxygen.
"Most of their lungs develop in the third trimester," Vilaivone explained. "She didn't have that."
Doctors said they had never seen a case of BPD as severe as Zariah's. They were certain she would not recover.
A Last Chance at Redemption
When Utah options were exhausted, Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, stepped in with a specialized program for children with BPD.
Vilaivone did not witness the work that was done on her child firsthand, but she could see its impact in Zariah's condition.
"She took her first steps," Vilaivone recalled. "I saw the excitement on our physical therapist's face when she got up."
Slowly but surely, the little girl's condition improved, and so did the function of her lungs.
A New Home with New Challenges
After 1,221 days (three years and four months) in the NICU, Donovan went home. Her parents had to create a "home hospital," including purchasing a ventilator and keeping it sterile so that no allergens would trigger an inflammation in her lungs. She also has nurses alternating shifts to care for her at home.
"She's a miracle, a fighter," Vilaivone proclaimed. "And now we're home. We're home."
Medical Expenses and Future Support
To help cover medical bills and equipment, Shaun and Vilaivone set up a GoFundMe page. As of January 23, 2019, 378 people had donated $20,651 toward their $30,000 goal.
