Premature 1-lb. baby recovers from heart surgery

Premature 1-lb. baby recovers from heart surgery

(Courtesy photo via Times-News)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

TWIN FALLS — A baby born four months premature in Twin Falls has recovered from a successful heart surgery.

Rainna Crabb made her arrival March 13 at St. Luke’s Magic Valley Medical Center, weighing just 1 pound, 1 ounce. She was born at 24 weeks gestation, Times-News reported.

She went through surgery in April to close a hole in her heart, her aunt Kindra Perez said. There wasn’t any bleeding or complications.

“There for a while, it was like ‘I don’t think we need to do surgery,’” Perez said. But then, the family found out doctors wanted to move forward.

Now, Rainna is growing and her health is improving. She weighs about two-and-a-half pounds.

After the surgery, “that’s when she started gaining weight and thriving after it,” Perez said. She described her niece as a “little fighter.”

In March, Rainna’s mother, Hansen resident Samantha Crabb, thought everything was on track with her pregnancy.

Just a couple of days after a checkup, she went to the hospital with stomach pain and ended up going into labor.

Rainna remains at St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital Newborn Intensive Care Unit in Boise.

Nationwide, about 1 percent of total deliveries are extremely low birth weight infants who weigh about 1 pound, 4 ounces or less.

Out of about 1,800 births each year, St. Luke’s Magic Valley typically sees about three or four infants who fall into that category.

Risks involved with a premature infant born at 24 weeks can include a possible brain bleed, damage to retinal nerves, hearing damage and respiratory issues.

But Rainna is doing well, Perez said. Samantha and Steven Crabb have been staying in Boise with their daughter.

Family members have been raising money to help the family cover expenses. They’ve brought in $1,540 toward a $3,000 goal via an online GoFundMe page.

Perez said she’s excited for the baby to come home, likely this summer. “I can’t wait for that day.”

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

UtahIdahoFamily
Julie Wootton, Times-News

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast