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‘Miracle Babies’ reunite with NICU staff at aquarium in Draper

Posted at 9:46 PM, Aug 20, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-20 23:46:00-04

DRAPER, Utah -- Kids love the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, but once a year a very special group of children make a visit.

They’re called "miracle babies", and each spent the first few weeks of their lives in a newborn intensive care unit.

The theme of this year's visit is "just keep swimming.” Each of the kids who attended beat long odds to be at the special gathering, and they got help along the way from the medical staff at Intermountain Health Care.

“I have three 'miracle babies,' all three born at IMC NICU,” said Jessica Christensen.

Christensen and her children were just one of the NICU families to attend this year's reunion. Her miracle babies, as well as the others who gathered, spent a lot of time in an incubator—just one of the tools that helped them survive and thrive.

The reunion is a chance for moms to show off their babies and for the nurses and others who worked with them to get re-acquainted.

Just seeing the number of parents and babies was a surprise to other moms.

"It was really surprising because when you're in that NICU, you kind of feel alone, you go into that room and it's just you and your baby and the nurses and everybody coming in, and it's kind of hard to understand and realize how many people are going through the same situation,” Christensen said.

Many of these children can now enjoy a day out with few signs they were once "miracle babies."

Event organizers say the reunion gives the “miracle workers” who helped each family a chance to reflect on a job well done.