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Miracle baby home from hospital after 100+ days
Baby Vita was born with a life-threatening condition and spent more than 100 days in the hospital after her birth. Now, she's home in Sherman Oaks.
LOS ANGELES - They call her the miracle baby.
After 100 days in the hospital, Baby Vita is finally home. On Friday, my crew and I walked into Baby Vita’s Sherman Oaks home and took the necessary precautions; we removed our shoes and put on face masks to shield the 5-month-old baby girl. She may be home, but she wasn’t completely out of the woods — yet.
The baby looked vibrant. She was smiling and pumping her feet. If it hadn’t been for the monitors and wires connected to the baby, we may not have known the health battle this little girl bravely fought.
But her parents, Krista and Matteo Carletti, will never forget. Krista gave birth on January 7. After a grueling 36-hour labor, doctors called for an emergency C-section. They soon discovered the baby had an acute case of meconium aspiration. Most cases of this condition in newborns are quite mild. But little Vita had one of the worst cases seasoned physicians had ever treated.
Vita was in respiratory lung and heart failure. But thanks to life-saving efforts at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s— Vita was saved.
During her time at the hospital, the newborn was placed on a ventilator to help her breathe. In addition to the ventilator, doctors put her on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO. The life support machine performs the function of the heart and lungs.
June 7 we went to the family home. Krista’s dad was visiting. He lives out of state but came to help his daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. Baby Vita still has a challenging road ahead of her, and will require special care. But she will have a rich, beautiful future according to the specialists who treated her.
Dr. Richard Kim, who is the head of pediatric and heart surgery, said upon seeing the baby exit the hospital, "It was a really wonderful moment. Not only for Vita and her family, we as a medical team were gratified and fulfilled we could help Vita."
"I see light," Krista Carletti said. "I see a very spiritual soul who was brought here for a reason."
A fundraiser has been launched to help the family. Those looking to help can click here.
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