A preemie born at just 27 weeks is finally home from the hospital 14 months after his birth. In his short life, he has had to overcome medical challenge but is now reportedly doing well. Hospital staff celebrated his discharge with cheers.
According to People magazine, Judea “Juju” Monogan weighed just 1.5 pounds when he was born and spent the first year of his life after birth at three different hospitals getting the care he needed. It is unclear at which hospital he was born, but shortly after his birth he received care at a second hospital, before being transferred to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) on September 4, 2024.
There, he was treated for severe infant chronic lung disease, also called bronchopulmonary dysplasia. It is caused by poor lung growth and lung injury and often occurs in premature babies who require respiratory support after birth.
READ: Preemie weighing a pound at birth ‘graduates’ after 81 days in NICU
“Juju was born very premature and when he came to CHLA, he suffered from severe lung disease and needed very specialized care that we provide in our NICCU [Newborn and Infant Critical Care Unit],” said Dr. Narayan Iyer, a neonatologist at CHLA. “He has a lot of growth and development in front of him, but we fully expect him to play T-ball like every kid by the time he is five.”
Dr. Iyer said Juju’s recovery had a lot to do with his family’s presence at the hospital. They were able to stay close to him during those long months in the hospital thanks to the Ronald McDonald House. Juju spent nine months in the NICCU.
“We have lived in the NICCU with Juju,” said his mother, Irish. “To go from thinking you would not walk out of here with your son, to then doing just that — walking out of here with your son — it is an indescribable feeling.”
Although Juju will continue to require outpatient care through CHLA’s Infant Chronic Lung Disease Program, he is expected to do well.
Babies born at 27 weeks reportedly have a 91% chance of survival.
