CBS Evening News: Hospital’s Smallest-Ever Premature Baby Finally Goes Home
CBS Evening News and ABC 7 recently featured Ellyannah Lopez, the smallest baby ever treated at Cedars-Sinai, who went home from the hospital after a 10-month stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children’s.
In the CBS Evening News “Heart of America” segment, news anchor Norah O’Donnell praised the “incredible staff” at Guerin Children’s, including more than 200 doctors and nurses who cared for Ellyannah since her birth at just 26 weeks, when she weighed less than a pound.
The baby’s mother, Cecia Lopez, said she had been eager for the day when she and her husband could take Ellyannah home.
“We were very hopeful and we had faith that things would work out. And we trusted this hospital and we knew we were in good hands,” she said.
At a “graduation ceremony” before Ellyannah left the hospital, ABC 7 news reporter Denise Dador interviewed Seth Langston, MD, a neonatologist at Guerin Children’s, about the baby’s progress.
Langston told Dador that Ellyannah had overcome many obstacles, repeatedly defying the odds.
“Because of her small size, she had all the odds stacked against her,” Langston said. “She needed help breathing with a ventilator. She needed antibiotics to treat infections, and she had challenges with feeding.”
Cecia Lopez told Dador that Ellyannah faces more challenges but that she is resilient.
“If you can graduate from the NICU, you can do anything in your life,” she said.
Click here to watch the segment on CBS Evening News and here to watch the segment on ABC 7.