A look from Gracelyn would capture your heart. Her parents, Brenda and Vang, can’t help but gush about their baby girl and all she has had to overcome in her short life.
Gracelyn first made her entrance into the world more than four months prematurely, when her mom was just 22 weeks and 6 days pregnant on Aug. 3, 2024. That early arrival was only the beginning.
An unexpected delivery
At Brenda’s 20-week anatomy scan, she discovered that she had a short cervix. That meant that Brenda had an increased risk of preterm labor. To try to help her baby remain in the womb longer, Brenda’s care team recommended a cerclage, a surgical procedure to temporarily close the cervix with stitches to prevent preterm birth. But just a day after the procedure, Brenda’s water broke. To avoid labor and help her baby have a chance at staying in the womb as long as possible, Brenda was admitted to The Mother Baby Center, a partnership between Allina Health and Children’s Minnesota.
Her care team wanted to monitor Brenda and give her baby more time to develop and grow. A little over a week later, Brenda experienced a placental abruption that led to an emergency C-section.
Both Brenda and Gracelyn needed additional care and monitoring immediately after birth.
“It was definitely scary and hard, especially because I didn’t get to see her for the first 12 hours,” said Brenda, describing the anxiety they felt in the early days.
Vang also remembers his fears during this time, “There are all these unknowns, and she was born so early.”
Beginning Gracelyn’s neonatal care journey
But the neonatology team at Children’s Minnesota was ready to receive Gracelyn when she was born, with a team of experts there at birth. Skilled at resuscitating the smallest and most premature infants, the Kid Experts were prepared for Gracelyn’s first impossible task – supporting her breathing with the placement of a breathing tube. While successful, Gracelyn was later found to have a tracheal tear. This can occur in extremely premature infants due to the very small size of their airways and their very fragile tissues. This kind of tear is often fatal as the air escapes from the airway and compresses the lung tissue, making it impossible to support a baby’s breathing.
Gracelyn’s breathing was initially unaffected. But with close monitoring, the team found the collection of air slowly expanding. At two weeks old, the tracheal tear was getting worse and putting severe pressure on her heart. The team had developed an innovative way to address the collection of air, but her blood pressure and oxygen levels had quickly gotten too low for the procedure to be performed. The team prepared the family for the possibility of a devastating outcome: without the lifesaving procedure, Gracelyn would likely pass away.
Gracelyn the fighter
Brenda and Vang prepared to say goodbye. Despite their care team’s encouragement, they had both been too afraid to hold her since birth because she seemed so small and fragile. Now was their last chance.
“As parents, we want to give her what she needs,” Brenda described.
As Brenda and Vang took turns holding their daughter, another miracle happened: Gracelyn’s vitals improved significantly within an hour. The family was stunned at the recovery.
“We always hear about the power of the kangaroo hold, but we never knew until that moment just how powerful it was,” Vang shared. Kangaroo hold is used to describe when parents hold their baby skin-to-skin – a practice that has been scientifically proven to improve the health and wellbeing of parents and their babies.
With Gracelyn more stable, the neonatology team was able to safely transport her to the Interventional Radiology suite. There, Pediatric Surgeon Bradley Linden, MD, and Pediatric Interventional Radiologist Timothy Singewald, MD, were ready to perform her lifesaving procedure. The procedure would be delicate, with Gracelyn weighing just over 1 pound. Even just transporting her through the hospital on maximum breathing support would be challenging.
The air collection compressing Gracelyn’s heart was in her mediastinum next to her heart and between her lungs, and the only way to drain it was through a lung. Working together, Dr. Linden placed a chest tube to help move the lung out of the way, then Dr. Singewald placed another tube through a piece of the lung and into the mediastinal air collection. This instantly worked to remove the pressure off of Gracelyn’s heart.
Her parents recall what the surgical team told them: “Gracelyn is a fighter – she pulled through.”
Gracelyn had two chest tubes placed as a result of the surgery. They would stay for about a month before being taken out.
Reflecting on their journey
In total, Gracelyn would stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Infant Care Center (ICC) at Children’s Minnesota for 313 days. The journey was difficult – with hurdle after hurdle for little Gracelyn. But Gracelyn lived up to her name and overcame the obstacles with grace. Gracelyn had a grade 1 brain bleed that resolved. She was born with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), an extra blood vessel in the heart, which also resolved. With each obstacle that came her way, Gracelyn overcame the odds.
Looking back at their journey, Vang and Brenda are grateful to the team of experts that cared for their daughter.
“This is the place that can give Gracelyn the best care possible,” Brenda said. Gracelyn had the expert care of the neonatology team along with other pediatric specialists – from cardiology to neurosurgery, all of whom consulted on her case to give Gracelyn the best possible outcome. She even experienced child life. Child life specialists brought books, toys and balloons to support her development and bring the joys of the outside world into her room.
“This doesn’t feel like a hospital to her,” Vang shared.
Gracelyn today
Gracelyn turned 1 in August 2025, with her adjusted birthday on Dec. 1, 2025. Today, Gracelyn is keeping her parents on their toes.
“She has so much sass and attitude,” Brenda shared. “We’re so blessed that she has that. I think that’s what got her through the days.”
In the months and years to come, Gracelyn will continue to see experts at Children’s Minnesota through the Intensive Care Follow-up Clinic, which provides continuing care for babies who were born premature or with medical complexities.
