1984 NICU Graduate

I was born at 24 weeks on October 20, 1984, and weighed only 21.5 ounces. My mom said my eyes were still fused close. The doctors at Saint Luke’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit told her I had only a 50 percent chance of surviving. (My odds went down to 13 percent when I developed a heart problem three weeks later.) The doctors said if I survived, I would be blind, deaf, and severely retarded.

Then they went to work to prove their predictions wrong.

The first three years of my life were pretty rough. I had surgery, suffered congestive heart failure, spent months on a respirator, and had multiple bouts with pneumonia. My mother was amazed at how hard the doctors and nurses worked to keep me alive and how loving they were.

Saint Luke’s is why I am here today. And, since my last bout with pneumonia in August 1987, I’ve been perfectly healthy. I’m not real athletic, and I’m a social wallflower, but I’ve managed to do a lot.

I never missed a day of school. I graduated in the top 10 percent of my high school class and was an honor student at Emporia State University. I got an information resource studies degree and now work at a trust company updating a database.

I love to play video games. My favorite are Mario, Mortal Combat, and WWE Wrestling. My hobbies are drawing and watching classic TV shows like “Happy Days,” “I Love Lucy,” and cartoons from the 1960s. And I read three books a week.

I love learning things I haven’t learned yet. Thanks Saint Luke’s for giving me the chance to learn for a lifetime.

—Joseph Bergman, Saint Luke’s Class of 1984

About 500 babies every year come into the world at Saint Luke’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. As a Level IIIb NICU—the state's highest designation for care—we offer the full continuum of care from preconception to childhood and beyond. Our neonatologists, neonatal nurses, pediatric anesthesiologists, lactation counselors, and dedicated neonatal pharmacists on hand 24/7 give the most fragile newborns the most remarkable gift…the chance for a normal, healthy life. And we host annual reunions to give our NICU alumni the chance to share the stories of their lives.