Adalyn Mae Hungenberg

Adalyn Mae Hungenberg, Addy, was born on Saturday February 18, 2017 at 1:06pm at just 28 weeks gestation via emergency c-section. She was born the world's strongest fighter at just 2 pounds. The one vivid memory I have of the moment she entered the world was the giggle that escaped from Jordan when he peeked over the curtain and saw his little girl for the first time...

Due to the circumstances of Addy's delivery (placenta abruption) I was unable to get Betamethasone - the two-shot steroid system that helps premature lung development. Therefore, at the time of Addy's birth, her lungs were severely underdeveloped and she required immediate care. Following the very quick c-section, Addy was taken from the OR to receive medical care by a lovely team of highly-qualified doctors, nurses and EMTs. These doctors in their effort to prep Addy for transport to Colorado Children's Hospital were unable to successfully get Addy on a ventilator. After about 4 hours of trying to get her onto a ventilator to make the transport lower-risk, the decision was made to transport her via ambulance while performing manual oxygen assistance. In the end, Zack, a flight-for-life EMT ended up using an oxygen bag, manually pumping her from MCR to Aurora -- in total,  Zack, manually helped Addy breathe for over 6 hours until they successfully transferred her to a ventilator at Colorado Children's. Jordan and I are forever thankful for the flight-for-life team, especially for Zack and his attention and commitment to Addy, and of course those strong forearms. Smile.

It is here, at Colorado Children's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where our story begins...