Parents Carolina Gonzalez and Michael MacDougal took their baby daughter Jo home in time for Christmas this year. The infant was born at 23 weeks’ gestation and spent months at the St. Francis Health System in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She had not been expected to survive.
Gonzalez, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 19, did not expect to be able to have children. One ovary was removed, and some of her eggs sustained damage during treatment. Even though she was still able to carry a pregnancy, she was no longer able to conceive on her own. The couple became pregnant in 2021 with the help of fertility treatment.
At 23 weeks, doctors found that baby Jo was not meeting growth requirements. Additionally, Gonzalez was diagnosed with preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome, a life threatening pregnancy complication related to preeclampsia. The baby was delivered early, weighing less than 12oz. She was expected to die soon after birth. Moved by the sound of baby Jo’s cries at birth, Dr. Rachel Everette, co-director of the Saint Francis Children’s Hospital NICU, decided to intervene.
During her five months in the NICU, baby Jo suffered a collapsed lung, but despite the long ordeal, Gonzalez and MacDougal celebrated Christmas at home with their daughter. She was released from the hospital in time for the Holiday.