18-Month-old Toddler Finally Goes Home After 500 Days in the Hospital

Autumn Robinson Dr. Megan Lagoski neonatal intensive care unit NICU PICU Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

By Camille Hutchison , Parent Herald Sep 23, 10:38 am

An 18-month-old toddler, Autumn Robinson, was finally cleared to go home after spending more than 500 days in the hospital. According to Good Morning America, the toddler spent her first days at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and, after her first birthday, at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU).

Autumn was born prematurely at 23 weeks in March 2021 and weighed just 1.1 pounds. Since then, she has been considered a micro-preemie with various complications because of prematurity, including bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), a type of chronic lung disease. Doctors at the time were unsure if Autumn would make it, giving her a 50 percent chance of survival.

Dr. Megan Lagoski, a neonatologist, told the news outlet that when a patient is about to deliver at 23 weeks, doctors already know that the baby's chance of survival is only 50 percent.

Moving Autumn to another hospital was scary, says the mom

Dr. Lagoski, the director of the only bronchopulmonary dysplasia program in Illinois at Lurie Children's Hospital, ended up seeing and treating the toddler after she was transferred to the hospital.

The doctor explained that the baby already had dangerous dips in her oxygen level to the point where her heart rate would become low, making all the doctors and nurses worried that she would die. Autumn's heart was also strained from all the work required to pump blood through the lungs, pick up oxygen, bring it back, and pump it to the rest of the body, commonly called pulmonary hypertension, making the baby even sicker.

Tyler Robinson, Autumn's mom, admitted that deciding to move her child to another hospital was terrifying, but she felt it was necessary.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia causes long-term breathing problems, particularly in premature babies, and results in poor growth and development. Approximately 10,000 to 15,000 babies in the United States develop the disorder each year, per Nationwide Children's.

Unimaginable difficulties for the toddler

Autumn was treated with different medications. She underwent surgery to insert a breathing tube and even received oxygen therapy, among other care.

Dr. Lagoski added that the young one also had some sedation and extra medications to help her stay calm while her lungs slowly healed from the period of sickness. She said that when they got good support on the breathing machine, they were able to come off of that and help Autumn start to do normal baby things and have more interactions that were beyond meaningful for the mother.

Robinson said the 524 days in the hospital was a long journey filled with unknowns and unimaginable difficulties. She visited her daughter every day and made it her priority to talk to Autumn. Robinson wanted to make her daughter feel endless love.

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia can be mild, moderate, or severe. Many infants fully recover from this disorder, but not everyone, per Cincinnati Childrens.