When Sabrina Wilbanks gave birth to her son Zee, the silence was deafening.

“There was no cry,” she remembers. “Only a peek before my baby was sent off to the NICU team awaiting him. No skin-to-skin, no nursing, no touch… only raw fear as I watched him being rolled away with a tube down his throat.”

A Devastating Diagnosis

This journey started two months earlier for Sabrina and her husband, Jase, who live in Ripley. At just 17 weeks pregnant, Sabrina’s water broke—a rare and dangerous complication known as preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM).

“I didn’t even know that was possible,” she says.

They faced two options: terminate the pregnancy or wait for labor, which they expected within a week. The risks were overwhelming—pre-term labor, life-threatening infections for her and the baby, placental abruption, potential lung and limb development issues, umbilical cord prolapse and stillbirth.

Choosing Hope

“If there is a heartbeat, there is a chance,” Sabrina told herself. She researched tirelessly, joined a PPROM online support group, stayed on bedrest and followed a strict daily regimen.

Sabrina’s OB-GYN referred her to Dr. Justin Brewer, a maternal fetal medicine specialist in Tupelo. Dr. Brewer specializes in high-risk pregnancies like hers. “We researched and realized that they were equipped to handle my situation—and it’s only an hour from home. We have three other kids, so that mattered,” she explains.

Despite daily bleeding, minimal amniotic fluid on each ultrasound and a stomach virus that left her so weak she fainted, Sabrina persevered. “My baby boy still held a strong heartbeat even with everything going against him,” she says. “My husband was my rock, gently reminding me, ‘Have faith,’ when doubts clouded my mind or tears filled my eyes during this whole process.”

At 23 weeks, Sabrina was admitted to North Mississippi Medical Center Women’s Hospital. The goal was to delay labor as long as possible. “I was grateful for every day pregnant,” she says. She made it to 27 weeks.

Faith Over Fear

On May 27, contractions came fast and fierce. As they were preparing for her C-section delivery, “I couldn’t hold back my tears,” Sabrina says. “I calmed myself with scripture. Isaiah 41:10— ‘Do not be afraid, for I am with you.’ I repeated that in my head probably 1,000 times.”

After Zee was born, his parents were told he was in critical condition. “The NICU doors opened, and we were met with faces full of dread,” she remembers. Neonatologist Dr. Omoloro Adeleke pulled Sabrina and Jase aside and explained that Zee had been resuscitated twice.

“She was preparing us to say our goodbyes,” Sabrina says. “Once she had finished speaking, I asked to see him. I had never seen a human so small in my life. A mighty 2 pounds and 12 ounces, covered with tubing and cords to where I could hardly see his sweet face.”

Herself a nurse, nothing had prepared Sabrina for what she saw. “I was overwhelmed. A whole wall of medications going into my tiny baby and the breathing machine,” she says. “Seeing him was surreal. I knew he wasn’t done fighting.”

Small Wins, Big Hope

That evening, Zee made a turnaround. “To their surprise… not mine,” Sabrina says.

Their NICU journey was a rollercoaster. Zee faced a collapsed lung, a hole in his heart, a grade 2 brain bleed and stomach issues. But there were moments of joy too—like the first time Sabrina held him, eight days after birth. “I was reminded to celebrate the small wins,” she says. “Each little step in the right direction.”

The Long Road Home

Balancing life between the hospital and home was hard. “I had to leave my girls at home and drive an hour each way,” she says. “Walking out of that hospital without Zee was heartbreaking. But I kept imagining the day we’d walk out together.”

Staying in the hospital felt isolating—lonely, accompanied only by the sound of beeping monitors. 

"It helped to bond with the nurses. It helped me feel as if he was safer and in trusted hands when I had to leave,” she says, adding that being able to check on Zee through a phone app linked to the Hey, Baby! bedside camera system was also comforting.  "That gave me a little peace of mind when I was away. I prayed for the staff daily—each hand that touched my child.”

After 85 days in the NICU, Zee did come home—two days before his due date, weighing 7 pounds, 13 ounces.

“My life will forever be changed from this experience,” Sabrina says. “Through the fear and heartache, my faith has greatly deepened. I clung to the promises of God’s word every day.”

Holding a Miracle

Today, as Sabrina rocks her sleepy 4-month-old laying on her chest with his “tummy full, heart happy and cute as ever,” she reflects on their journey and the Women’s Hospital team who helped them get there.

“When Zee was delivered, it was like God Himself was working through Dr. Adeleke’s hands. She and Dr. (Ginger) Pole were amazing,” she says. “They explained in detail answers to any questions, and I feel they handled my baby’s complex needs with precision. They were a combination of incredible expertise and genuine compassion.

“I’m still in awe. What an amazing experience to have a front-row seat to the miracles of God! Thank you, NMMC, for your compassion and excellence and helping my baby boy make it home.”