Castro Valley Miracle Baby

From left, Jesus, Gaby and baby Valentina Alvarado of Castro Valley.

Baby Valentina Alvarado of Castro Valley, six months old.

Valentina Alvarado of Castro Valley turned six months old recently, and in most families, that would have been a celebration but not a surprise. To Valentina and her parents Gaby and Jesus, however, it was a little short of a miracle.

Valentina was born at Kaiser Permanente’s San Leandro Medical Center on September 4, 2021, after 23 weeks of pregnancy and weighing only 580 grams, or about one pound, four ounces. In a photo of her just after birth, it’s hard to spot the baby among all the tubes and medical devices.

Babies born before 28 weeks are considered “extremely premature” and the world’s earliest premature baby to survive birth was born at 21 weeks. Only a handful have survived entering the world as soon as Valentina did.

The most pressing medical problem among the many they face, according to doctors, is badly undeveloped lungs. Even after they go home from the hospital, they are still at risk for quite some time.

Today Valentina is a healthy six-month-old whose only medications are multi-vitamins and who just had a good six-month checkup. Notably, she no longer needs her lung medications.

To get to that point, though, required a team of doctors, nurses, and other professionals, two very dedicated parents determined to stay positive for the baby, five months in the hospital, and a lot of spunk on Valentina’s part.

“She was very feisty. She really was a fighter from the beginning,” said Stephanie Jimenez, assistant nurse manager of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Kaiser San Leandro.

She added, “With these little ones, it really takes a big team of people to resuscitate them and get their fragile little lungs going.”

Dr. Ashvin Sangoram, a neonatologist at the hospital who headed Valentina’s care team, gave her parents a lot of credit, too.

“We don’t always know if babies born this premature will survive,” he said. “But there’s something about Valentina and her family, their positivity.”

To make things even more challenging for the family, Jesus came down with COVID-19 just after Gaby was discharged from the hospital while Valentina was still there. He has made a full recovery since and was able to safely welcome his daughter home.

Gaby had hoped that Valentina wouldn’t arrive until at least 28 weeks when survival odds are much better. But she went into the hospital at 6 a.m., not feeling well but not in labor.

The baby soon arrived, though, quite quickly once labor began, according to Jimenez.

Doctors pointed out the dangers Valentina faced but were hopeful, Gaby said.

“We needed to be positive for her, even if a day seemed terrible. I really feel babies feel our energy,” she said.

Except for when Jesus had COVID, both parents were there for Valentina every day she was hospitalized, Jimenez said.

Sangoram said Gaby would need in-depth checkups until she was two, both to assess her health and to check her against developmental goals. He said that while there were risks of long-term problems, he didn’t see these as likely for her.

He hoped that soon, only Gaby and Jesus would know she’d been born prematurely. Except, of course, for her care team, he added.

Jesus and Gaby said, “Our team was like another family. We’re still in touch with several of them.”

“She’s overcome a lot of things with the help of those doctors and nurses,” Gaby said. “She’s like a little miracle and we’re just grateful.”