Introducing Kweli Chan
Originally published on July 18, 2022
Kweli Chan, was born on July 7, 2022 at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, New Hampshire. Kweli is a Swahili word. It means "truth".
A little after 24 hours after she was born, doctors discovered that Kweli’s feet weren’t getting as much oxygenated blood as her hands whose oxygen levels were also low. They suspected that Kweli’s left common carotid artery had a narrowing that was causing pulmonary hypertension, but they needed a pediatric cardiologist to do more testing, which our hospital in Keene doesn’t have.
After spending hours calling around to local hospitals searching for a pediatric cardiologist and a hospital that could take a newborn, Boston Children's Hospital’s pediatric cardiac unit confirmed that they had room. They decided to transport Kweli and Chevon by helicopter to halve the travel time. On their way to the hospital they passed over Fenway Park at the tailend of the Yankees’ 12-5 shellacking of the Red Sox, which I, a native New Yorker, took as a good omen. Our doula Kerry drove me to Boston.
The pediatric cardiologists ruled out Kweli’s heart as the source of her pulmonary hypertension, so Kweli moved from the pediatric cardiac intensive care ward to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Kweli made a lot of progress throughout her week in the NICU. Each day the doctors removed another tube- her antibiotic IV, her feeding tube, her nasal cannula (oxygen). The doctors discovered a small hole in her heart (ventricular septal defect) that they believe will close on its own with time.
We thought the diagnosis was the final step before heading home. We were wrong. Being in a reclined position causes Kweli's oxygen levels to dip, so the hospital gave us a car bed to install in our rental car. After we installed it, the rental car’s battery died, so we needed a jump. Then printers in the NICU wouldn't print our discharge paperwork. After they fixed that, they wouldn't allow us to carry Kweli to the elevator to the main entrance so they had to find a bassinet.
It’s been a strange start to parenthood. Also, I’m insanely jealous that a little more than a day into her life Kweli got to ride in a helicopter. She owes me a helicopter ride.