Hannah Pavlu’s eyes glistened with emotion as she recalled the time 10 years ago that the doctors and nurses in UTMB’s neonatal intensive care unit helped save the life of her son, who was born extremely prematurely.
“Kooper was born at 25 weeks and weighed just 1 pound,” Pavlu said. “He was tiny, and we honestly weren’t sure he was going to survive.”
But Kooper not only survived, he has thrived, his mother said, thanks in part to the care he received at the start of his life at UTMB.
The Pavlus were one of dozens of families who attended UTMB’s eighth annual Preemie Reunion on Oct. 10, a gathering of children who were born at less than 34 weeks and received care from the nurses and doctors in the neonatal intensive care unit. The carnival-style event, which features music, games, craft booths and refreshments, is an opportunity for the children and their families to be reunited with the UTMB staff members who provided care while they were hospitalized during the early months of life.
UTMB delivers more than 6,000 babies each year. About 500 of these newborns are ill or premature at birth and require the most comprehensive infant intensive care available.
“This is affirmation and re-affirmation of what we do because we take care of these babies who were very, very little and very, very sick and then they get well and get to go home,” said Dr. C. Joan Richardson, professor and chair of UTMB’s Department of Pediatrics who has cared for high-risk newborns for 41 years. “Families travel great distances to come back and say hello. That means the world to all of us.”
Lavonda Morgan, a nurse in the neonatal ICU and president of the Infant Special Care Unit Preemie Reunion committee, said her fellow nurses hold bake sales in the fall and the spring to raise money for the event each year.
“This began because we were curious about how our little 1-pound babies were doing after they left the hospital,” said Morgan, who has been a NICU nurse for 23 years. “This makes our day when we see how well they’re doing and how healthy they are.”
Morgan said the reunion usually draws between 50 and 70 children and their families. This year, one family traveled from Lufkin for the event and last year a family traveled from Corpus Christi to attend.
Dr. Sunil Jain, professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics, said some of the infants born prematurely had been in the hospital for several months.
“The parents of these premature babies met in the hospital, developed ties, formed bonds and then many of them never saw 
each other again until this reunion,” said Jain. “We want that relationship to continue and we want our relationship with them to continue.”
For Hannah Pavlu, the event represents a way to say thank you to the people who helped her family during a difficult and trying time.
“Everyone here is special to me, and it’s pretty emotional coming back each year,” said Pavlu, who drove to the reunion from her home in Angleton. “Everyone at UTMB, from Dr. Richardson to every nurse who helped, were always sweet and kind to me. It was a hard time but they made it a lot easier for me and my family.”