Brooksville Preemie Excels with Help from NMMC Neurodevelopmental Clinic

Five-year-old Brooklyn Ramirez of Brooksville recently celebrated her birthday and her graduation from North Mississippi Medical Center’s Neurodevelopmental Clinic. Brooklyn was born to Jacinto and Lakembro Ramirez 12 weeks early, weighing less than 2 pounds. She spent 49 days in NMMC’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Tupelo.

Transitioning home from the NICU is challenging, which is where our Neurodevelopmental Clinic comes in. Nurse practitioner Tina King and a team of experienced NICU nurses and developmental therapists help ensure that all of a child’s medical and developmental needs are being met. “Our team sees babies who are at risk for developmental delays or challenges,” explains occupational therapist Lydia Thomas. “A lot of our patients were born prematurely, like Brooklyn.”

Lydia and speech therapist Dana Hobby worked with Brooklyn in the NICU. There, they focused on body positioning, range of motion, bathing and feeding. They spent a great deal of time teaching Brooklyn’s parents techniques to help her have the best possible start in life.

Three months after going home from the NICU, Brooklyn had her first appointment at the Neurodevelopmental Clinic, which is located within Children’s Clinic in downtown Tupelo. She came for follow-up visits every three to four months at first. As she grew older, she followed up at six- and nine-month intervals, and visits focused on motor, cognitive and social skills.

“Brooklyn has done exceptionally well,” Lydia says. “Her parents have been so involved since the beginning, always being attentive and doing whatever was suggested.”

Their hard work has certainly paid off. “We are very impressed with Brooklyn because she is extremely bright and expressive, and her play skills are exceptional,” Lydia says. “At her final visit, we saw no indication of developmental delay, despite being born at only 28 weeks gestation.”

NMMC’s Neurodevelopmental Clinic follows a child as long as he or she has continuing developmental needs or when development is consistent with chronological age. Brooklyn has not only “caught up,” but surpassed her developmental goals—and our team is thankful to have been part of her story. For more information, call (662) 377-2238 or 1-800-THE DESK (1-800-843-3375).