Pam Montgomery of Tupelo met her grandson, Bishop, for the first time yesterday, 35 years from the day she first met her own daughter, Abby. The son of Lane and Abby Ezell of Tupelo, Bishop has been in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the North Mississippi Medical Center Women’s Hospital since he was born prematurely Feb. 10. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, for two years visitation has been limited in the NICU to mother, father/support person only. On April 4, which happens to be Abby’s birthday, visitation was expanded to allow the newborn’s grandparents to visit between 5-7 p.m. while accompanied by the mother or father/support person.

“It was the thrill of a lifetime. We’ve waited so long for this,” says Pam, who had only seen photos and videos of Bishop. “I didn’t know what to expect – he has grown so much!” Bishop, who was born at just over 27 weeks gestation, has almost doubled his birth weight of 2 pounds, 10 ounces.

In addition to his “Mimi,” Bishop also got to meet his “Memo,” Diana Ezell of Tupelo, on April 4. Big brother, Lincoln, has not yet met Bishop but “asks about him every day,” Abby says. “He wants to know when Bishop is coming home.” The Ezells hope to be home by Easter, which would be three weeks before his due date of May 8.

Under the new guidelines, during the visitation hours only two visitors are allowed at the bedside at one time, including the mother or father/support person. No more than four grandparents may visit per day. For more information, visit www.nmhs.net/visitation.