You wouldn’t know it from seeing how active and happy Scarlett Armstrong is, but the soon-to-be transitional kindergarten grad was born at just 24 weeks. She weighed a pound and a half and was 12 inches long.
Over the next four and a half months the Armstrong family’s life revolved around the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Rady Children’s Hospital.
“The doctors are absolutely amazing, they did everything. She had a brain bleed at two weeks old, she wore a cranium helmet, you name it and she did it,” Scarlett’s mother, Meagan Armstrong told NBC 7 while the family enjoyed the Annual NICU Reunion.
In its fourth year, the reunion lets former patients and their families reunite with doctors, nurses and other patients who were with them during their time in the NICU.
Scarlett was what’s called a micro preemie when she was born, but nearly five years later – “no problems, she’s been super healthy, she’s actually in transitional kindergarten right now, she’ll graduate in two weeks and then she’ll start kindergarten,” Meagan beamed. “We’ve had zero problems since we left the NICU so it’s been really wonderful.”
Scarlett’s father, Brennan, said when she was in the NICU he would go back and forth from the office to the hospital every day.
“It was stressful, but that they throw something like this every year is the best,” he said.
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“It’s really cool to see how far the children have come and how far the families have come,” Meagan said. “We plan on coming every year with our family.”
She added, “she’s alive today because of the doctors.”
