The NICU journey of preemie Magnus (Gus) George Brekke born Feb. 26, 2006 at 8:18pm. He weighed 1 lb 12.25 oz and was 13.5 inches long at 25 weeks of gestation.

Ninety-two days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. What follows is a brief photo essay cultivated from a daily blog maintained during Gus’ hospital stay – biggusworld.blogspot.com.

As the parent of a preemie, and as the one documenting his stay from a photojournalistic viewpoint, it was important for me to doing this “work” during Gus’ hospitalization. It enabled me to process visually and verbally what was a very difficult time.

Gus is now almost six and is a perfectly healthy and precocious little boy. (I’m pre-dating this essay to 2006 so it falls in sequence with other projects.) His growth and recovery from some very serious conditions due to prematurity are nothing short of miracles.

Nurse Susie is on the scene when Gus is delivered via Cesarean Section and hustled through a special door in the delivery room directly into the NICU. Within minutes Gus has a respirator line, two IV ports, and various

The first image of Gus through the portal of the isolette.

Nurse Lindsay looks on as the preliminary care of Gus occurs.

Jill reaches her hand through for her first touch of Gus’ hand. His skin looks so dark because it is very thin – translucent.

Nurse Shari talks to Jill about Gus’ care, only hours after his delivery.

The first color picture of Gus in his isolette. The little gold disk on his chest is a temperature monitor and it looks blurry because the respirator he is on delivers 300+ puffs of air per minute.

Me holding Gus’ hand.

Jill and her mother look into Gus’ isolette.

Even as tiny as he is, Gus is starting to take the pacifier after a few days.

Under the intense lights that help prevent jaundice, Gus must wear a mask to protect his eyes.

A closeup of Gus’ temperature monitor.

Swaddling Gus after a diaper change.

Jill holds Gus’ hand.

Gus’ first trip outside the isolette to be held and I’m the lucky one.

A new picc line has been inserted to deliver nutrients into Gus’ blood stream. The line is about the size of fishing line.

Gus’ feet being stabilized as he prepares for heart surgery. A small clip will be placed between heart chambers to allow it to pump more effectively.

Gus’ hand is rigged with a IV line and a pad to keep his hand stable.

Gus’ fingernails are getting longer at three weeks old.

Nurse Susie removes Gus’ picc line.

Blankets cover Gus’ isolette so he can sleep longer through the day.

Gus beginning to drink expressed breast milk through a gravity feed into his stomach on May 4. Most preemies lack the ability to drink from a bottle until they are at the equivalent of 30-35 weeks gestation.

A big move for any preemie who starts life breathing via a respirator is the move to breathing on their own, even with a little supplemental oxygen from a cannula.

Gus moved out of the isolette and into a regular crib on May 12. Nurse Susie made Gus a special poster for inside his crib with pictures of his special day and notes saying “Gus is 5 pounds AND in a crib today – 74 days old.”

Gus needed a small transfusion and it was decided the best way to deliver it was through an IV port on top of his head. The blood really helped and moved him much closer to going home.

Gus’ last day at the NICU, just before being discharged. Nurses Penny (left) and Susie (right) were his primary caregivers and his great recovery is, in large part, due to the professionalism, love and care they showed him.