RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — It is a joyful day at UNC Health Rex Hospital, where several tiny patients are going home from the neonatal intensive care unit, just in time for the holidays. However, there are still 21 babies that will be spending their very first Christmas in the NICU.
One of the lead nurses at the NICU, Lori Edwards, said the hospital honors these little soldiers every day.
“We celebrate first bottles. We celebrate breathing on their own. We celebrate taking first baths, and we surely want to celebrate the holidays and Christmas,” said Edwards.
Most of the babies at the hospital are premature, some weighing less than two pounds. For many families, the NICU becomes a second home for weeks, sometimes even months…