Allison Harding and her husband, Sean, knew being pregnant would be risky with Allison’s juvenile diabetes, but it was controlled and having a baby was not out of the question.
 The Harding’s truly believe that their doctor, Harold Wiesenfeld, MD at Magee, saved their son's life. Allison was a high-risk pregnancy from the beginning because of her juvenile diabetes, which she was diagnosed with when she was just three years old. Throughout her pregnancy she always had a good sonogram reading and blood test results.
To the right: Sean Michael Harding Jr. was premature, but thanks to the great care in Magee's NICU, he is doing just fine.
At the end of week 33 Allison started to feel her body was not quite right. She remembers calling the doctor's office and him telling her to come in so that he could listen to the fetal heartbeat. The heartbeat was not as strong as he wanted so he sent Allison over to triage to be more closely monitored by the nurses and doctors. Arun Jeyabalan, MD, also was their doctor because of the high-risk nature of the pregnancy.
Within one hour of being in the triage area, she went from having a smooth pregnancy to being diagnosed with preeclampsia. Allison and Sean, being first-time parents, were scared. They started to cry and pray all in the same moment as they were giving her shots of steroids for their unborn son's lungs, forcing them to develop early. Allison was admitted to Labor Delivery Room 19 and put on bed rest for three days. They gave her magnesium to make sure her high blood pressure did not cause a stroke.
After their doctor realized that her contractions were causing their son's heart rate to drop, he did an emergency C-section on the third day. At 8:49 a.m. on February 2, 2007, Allison and Sean became parents of a 2lb. 12oz. baby boy named Sean Michael Harding Jr.
Needless to say, he was escorted to the NICU. Although small for delivering at 33 1/2 weeks, he did not need oxygen. He was hooked up to the heart machine and Sean Jr. stayed in the NICU for 35 long days. Leaving Sean Jr. for that long was one of the hardest things Allison and Sean experienced.
“Dr. Wiesenfeld, Dr. Jeyabalan, and the nurses in the NICU took very good care of my son. I will be forever grateful for the immediate attention I received once I was admitted to the hospital and the immediate attention my son received in the NICU,” stated Allison. “I’m lucky to have that kind of care so close to home.”
OUR COMMITMENT TO: Neonatology
OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIVING: Neonatal Intensive Care
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