Sharifa Jackson's daughter Arya was born 16 weeks early, weighing just more than one pound
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NEED TO KNOW
- Sharifa Jackson’s daughter Arya was born at 24 weeks, weighing just over a pound and faced serious health challenges
- Arya spent nearly eight months in the NICU, receiving care for a heart defect, severe lung disease and more
- Doctors and nurses cheered as Arya left the hospital after making significant progress and hitting key milestones
Sharifa Jackson's daughter Arya is finally going home after spending 236 days in the NICU.
The ABC 6 Action News reporter was able to bring her baby daughter Arya home after the little one spent the last almost eight months in the hospital. Jackson and her husband Jaro welcomed Arya on Aug. 13 at only 24 weeks, about 16 weeks early.
Jackson tells ABC 6 that everything was normal in her pregnancy until suddenly, it wasn't.
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"I knew she would come home one day. I just didn't know [when]. I couldn't imagine it, then I stopped imagining it once we were getting longer and longer, and she wasn't home yet," Jackson explains.
She recounts how it was only three hours from when she started to feel unwell until she was rushed to the hospital and welcomed Arya, who weighed just over a pound when she was born.
"I didn't know anything about a NICU or NICU life or a baby that could weigh one pound," says Jackson.
Jackson and her husband Jaro watched their daughter closely over the next almost eight months and would pray daily. Arya had a heart defect, severe lung disease and received multiple blood transfusions. It was a month before Jackson was able to hold her baby girl.
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"We've been through so many hospitals. Everybody, our nurses, doctors from Jersey, to CHOP, to King of Prussia, every person who cared for her loved her so much," shares Jackson. "I never worried when we weren't at the hospital because they took care of her like their own."
The new mom explains that they had good days, like when she was able to take Arya outside for the first time.
"We had a really sunny day. She got to go outside in the stroller [for the] first time ever [and] experience the sunshine and air," remembers Jackson. "I think she decided, 'You know what? I don't want to be in this hospital room anymore, let me pick it up.'"
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Throughout the last few weeks, Arya made significant progress. She hit several of her goals and was able to speed up the process to go home. When she finally left the hospital, doctor sand nurses lined the hallway and cheered her on as she made her exit.
"I think we got on the steps [and] I said, 'Whose baby is this?' Not that I couldn't imagine it happening, it was just so long we got used to living in the NICU," says Jackson. "When you get to this point and can bring your baby home, you don't remember the other times."