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Continued from Page standing position, though he’s too young to walk yet. He babbles “mama” and “dada,” and laughs at the antics of his 5-year-old sister, Sarah. But he was in such a delicate con dition when he was born that it was a month before doctors congratulated the Temens on their new son. “I guess they didn’t want to get our hopes up before that,” Kim Temen said. She said that while staff tried to be as encouraging as possible, it was probably dangerous to make promises too soon because many premature babies don't survive. And she already had lost two babies. The doctors and nurses who cared for Christian during the first three months of his life threw a birthday party for him at Good Shepherd when he came to visit recently “It's a great feeling, especially to see him looking so good,” said Dr. Raheem Uraizee, a neonatologist at the hospital. “It was a nice surprise to see how well he'd developed over the year,” said Jodie Pufundt, a neonatal clin ical norse specialist. Until two years ago, when Good Shepherd and Lutheran General forged a new corporate partnership, any baby born at Good Shepherd with less than 30 weeks of prenatal development or lighter than 2 pounds, 12 ounces was automati cally sent to Lutheran. But Good Shepherd now has access to better equipment that makes transfers to Lutheran General superfluous in some cases. Christ ian’s was one of them. “If the baby can get the same care here, why send him away from home?” Uraizee said. One of the deciding factors in keeping Christian at Good Shepherd was that he responded well to a drug that helped his delicate lungs to sta bilize and be able to rely on conventional mechanical respira tion. Deprived of this chemical, many premature babies’ lungs simply col lapse when they exhale Despite the medical miracle they've witnessed with their son, the Temens’ problems were far from over when they brought him home last fall “It’s been busy,” an exhausted Kim Temen said. “Lots of doctors, appointments, nurses coming to the house. And the insurance company refuses a lot of things. I'm so glad I'm not working because I wouldn't have time for all this if I were.” The biggest medical problem Christian had after leaving the hos pital was a hernia surgery he needed, for which the room bill alone was $12,000. The insurance company origi nally offered to cover only 50 percent of the bills, but after much debate and deliberation it finally raised the coverage to 80 percent. Kim said she was happy to learn that the doctors and nurses at Good Shepherd still talk about their suc cess story and have a photo of Christian on the wall to inspire par ents in similar situations — though none has been as premature as Christian. The Temens told the med ical staff to give their names and phone number to any parents who need to talk to someone who's been through the ordeal. Christian's parents continue to keep a close eye on him because he can still forget to breathe on his own when he’s asleep. But these episodes have become less frequent. The last one occurred more than two months ago. Last month, the little boy moved out of his parents’ room and into his own. “He's still on the monitor, but I hope to get rid of it soon,” Kim Temen said. And barring any developmental problems that may still show up — including in his eyesight, which is among the last senses to fully develop — Christian’s life from this point on could very closely resemble that of a child born at full term. “It’s awesome to see him doing so well,” said Kris Methling, the nurse who supervised Christian's delivery last year. Christian Temen as he was last September, just before his departure from the hospital. By a BC OTT MAHAOdNEY/DAILY HERALT n Kim Temen visits her son Christian last September in the last days of his nearly three-month stay at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital. By that time, Christian had gained 3 pounds over his low birth weight and has since gained another 13 pounds.
Newspaper Details
Arlington Heights Daily Herald Suburban Chicago
Arlington Heights, Illinois, US
Mon, Jul 29, 2002
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Taylor B.
USA 30 Jun 2026
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