From his very first breath, the odds were against Hudson David McNeel.
Born at 24 weeks and 5 days — 15 weeks away from his due date — he weighed just 1 pound, 7 ounces. As an extremely premature baby, or a micro-preemie, he had only a 50% chance of survival.
After his mother, Heather McNeel, gave birth, Hudson was immediately put on life support. In order to receive the specialized care he would need, he was transported to the Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at UW Medical Center – Montlake, which for over 50 years has provided the highest level of care for the most fragile newborns — and their families — in the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI) region.
Hudson was cared for at the NICU before he passed away in 2011. Heather and her husband Warren founded the Hudson David McNeel Foundation to honor their son by supporting the NICU where their son spent his life — and to work toward a future where no parent would have to grieve their baby.
“The Foundation is a constructive way for us to channel our grief and to honor Hudson,” McNeel says. “We want to support other families going through the same thing.”
For the Macias family, this goal would be achieved thanks to UW Medicine’s breakthroughs in care for extremely premature babies — breakthroughs supported by the McNeel Foundation.
Premature birth is a common — and growing — problem
In September 2021, Elizabeth Macias went into labor at 23 weeks. Her son, Samuel, would spend the beginning of his life in the NICU at UW Medical Center – Montlake.
Samuel Solis, born at 24 weeks, received lifesaving care at the UW Medicine level IV NICU.
Elizabeth has lived her whole life in Sunnyside, Washington, a city of 16,000 in Yakima County. All her prenatal checkups had been normal — in fact, she had just been told at her 20-week appointment that everything looked great. Elizabeth, her partner and her seven-year-old son were looking forward to the new baby.
“It was surreal,” says Elizabeth of going into labor so early. “I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.”
Although most parents aren’t expecting a premature birth, they’re not uncommon. One out of every 10 babies born in the U.S. is premature, and the number continues to rise.
“People don’t understand how often prematurity occurs,” says Heather.
Elizabeth planned to give birth at her local hospital. When she went into labor, she was transported to UW Medical Center – Montlake by Airlift Northwest, UW Medicine’s premier air medical program.
“I was scared, but I also felt relieved to be going to UW Medicine,” Elizabeth says. “I knew Samuel would get the best care.”
Indeed, UW Medicine’s NICU is the only one in the region — and one of just a few in the country — with an extreme prematurity program, meaning there is a protocol in place for babies born between 22 and 24 weeks.
After Elizabeth spent a week in the hospital, Samuel was born at 24 weeks. He would spend the next 104 days in the NICU.
Improving survival odds for the most fragile patients
The extreme prematurity program (EPP) at UW Medicine’s NICU was started in 2021 with the goal of creating a standardized resuscitation and treatment protocol for babies born before 24 weeks. The Hudson David McNeel Foundation has been a generous supporter of the program since its inception.
“We’re so lucky to have a Level IV NICU here to take care of the earliest and most medically complex premature babies,” says Heather, “and we’re grateful to our donors, whose support enables us to make a difference.”
Samuel, like many premature babies, was born with complex health issues.
“He had a lung injury called bronchopulmonary dysplasia,” Elizabeth says. “He had a heart murmur, a kidney injury, he was on a ventilator and he had some hernias.” These challenges frequently affect premature babies and are compounded by the difficulty of caring for such tiny, fragile patients.
“Standard medical equipment can’t be used with these babies,” says Heather. “You need special equipment to, for example, do a blood draw with a two-pound infant.”
The McNeel Foundation’s support has helped the EPP purchase specialized equipment and train doctors and nurses in its use. This equipment — in concert with the NICU’s comprehensive care approach and thoughtful treatment protocols — has led to an astonishing increase in survival odds. Since the EPP’s inception, survival rates for babies born between 22 and 24 weeks in the UW Medicine NICU have risen from nonexistent to 50%.
But there’s still work to be done. Donor support will help outfit new spaces, expanding clinical care to serve more patients and families. Spaces like a new sterile nutrition room for preparing specialized formula will help standardize nutrition and minimize contamination risk. These initiatives will help the NICU work toward the goal of further improving survival rates for the most fragile premature babies.
“In the NICU, we see the tiniest and most vulnerable patients,” says Carri Gest, MN, RN, CCRN, the nurse manager at UW Medicine’s NICU. “Donor support improves the quality of care and ensures that the NICU has the equipment it needs. I can’t express enough gratitude for the Hudson David McNeel foundation and the impact their support has had on the NICU.”
“We’re truly inspired by the positive impact the Foundation has made,” says Heather, “and we’re driven to do more.”
Keeping families involved, even from a distance
Elizabeth’s distance from her son made the stress of having Samuel in the NICU even more acute. Sunnyside is a three-hour drive from UW Medical Center – Montlake, so Elizabeth and her partner could only visit once a week. Most of her communication with Samuel’s care team was by phone.
“I was really scared to call the first week Samuel was in the NICU,” Elizabeth says. “I was so afraid I was going to hear something I didn’t want to hear.”
Likewise, Heather has vivid memories of the stress and fear of being a NICU parent. “I was terrified when Hudson was first born, looking at his size and all of the cords and equipment,” she says. “One of the nurses asked if I wanted to help with a diaper change, and I froze. I thought I would break him if I touched him.”
As Elizabeth got to know the doctors and nurses, and as she and her partner spent more time in the NICU, her fears began to ease.
“The rooms were always so clean, and it was calm and quiet,” Elizabeth says. “We looked forward to our visits. Every time we saw him, he looked a little bigger.”
Watching Samuel’s progress allowed Elizabeth to celebrate the small things in the midst of extreme stress, which resonates with Heather.
“I always tell parents you should document and celebrate each milestone,” she says. “It’s important to be able to look back at those moments.”
