PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital colleagues hosted the first-ever reunion for former NICU babies born at the hospital on Sunday.
Wyatt Mata is a recent NICU grad after spending nearly three months there.
Wyatt was born in August at just 28 weeks and was discharged in November.
His parents said they are thrilled to be able to reunite with the doctors and nurses who helped them.
“We spent about 79 days in the NIU but we are thankful for all the doctors and the nurses and everybody that took care of Wyatt,” Daniel Mata said. “It made the experience more memorable and a little easier on a parent. It’s not always easy going into a NICU experience but in the end, this is what you get so it’s definitely worth it and we are super thankful for everybody.”
Doctors and nurses were glad to attend.
“We take care of tiny little babies to full-term babies that are ill and we have the opportunity to follow these babies and see them on a day like this which gives us the greatest gratification to see these babies doing so well,” Dr. Antonio Pena said.
“With COVID the past couple of years we haven’t had people be able to come up and visit us in the hospital so this has been so rewarding to be able to have an event where people can come together and be able to share in those wonderful reunion moments where we get to see families that are at home now but many years older,” RN Kristin Livingston said.
The event featured inflatable playground activities, a face painting station, and a photo booth.
“Being able to share experiences with other parents and see the doctors and nurses and being able to say thank you is awesome and they get to see a product of their hard work which is great,” Mata said. “He’s come a long way from being a two-pounder and we are really excited to be here.”
Organizers said they hope to see the reunion become an annual event.
