Wilmington family shares NICU journey after daughter born at 23 weeks

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) — September is NICU Awareness Month, a time to recognize babies who need intensive medical care after birth, along with their families and the medical teams who care for them.

For one Wilmington family, that care became a lifeline after their daughter was born more than four months early.

Fallon Storm was born March 28 at just 23 weeks, weighing less than a pound.

Fallon’s mother, Taylor Grennan, was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and developed pulmonary edema, forcing doctors to deliver Fallon by emergency cesarean section.

Grennan and Fallon’s father, Gregory Rizzo, said they did not know whether their daughter would survive and described the early days as an emotional roller coaster.

“A lot of questions. We didn’t really know how long we were going to be there, what the road was really going to look like ahead of us… It was really scary,” Grennan said.

“You don’t really know what to do. You’re worried about bills and work … which was very accommodating luckily,” Rizzo said.

Fallon went on to spend 137 days in the neonatal intensive care unit.

NICU nurse Heather Teeter was there from the beginning, admitting Fallon and helping care for her throughout her stay. Caring for Fallon meant balancing hope with the reality of how fragile she was.

Now, Teeter said seeing the little girl who once weighed barely a pound running around is remarkable.

“It’s kind of weird to see her now because I’m like, you’re like an actual baby versus when she was born, barely a pound. But it’s really cool to see her grow and thrive … and she’s got a great family which has made this possible too,” Teeter said.

Fallon’s parents said their message to other families going through a NICU stay is to hold on to hope, lean on their support systems and take things one day at a time.