NICU patient proves strength isn’t measured by size

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 21, 2026) — Most people will never experience a prolonged stay in an intensive care unit, hooked up to countless tubes and monitors with numerous doctors, nurses and staff watching them every moment of every day. They won’t have to follow up with a cadre of specialists at weekly appointments and be subjected to even more tests and imaging.

Tag Peterson has experienced all that and more. And he’s only 3 months old.

“He’s been through it all,” said Tag’s mother, Brittany. “He’s endured more in the few months he’s been here than most adults go through — times 10.”

Brittany and her husband, Justin, never had any reason to suspect that Tag would have such a dramatic start. Even though Brittany’s pregnancy was considered high-risk because of the premature birth of their other son, there were no indications that Tag would be anything other than healthy.

“Every appointment we had, he was perfect,” she said. “No issues, and every ultrasound was perfect. Never in my wildest dreams, did I ever consider that my child might not survive.”

The most critical patient

Minutes after Tag was born, they knew something was wrong.

“His whole body was blue,” said Brittany. “Except for a small, red area over his heart.”

Tag’s little body wasn’t getting enough oxygen. Hospital staff worked quickly to put him on a ventilator, but it wasn’t enough. He needed a higher level of specialized care. While Brittany and Justin could only watch, feeling helpless, they at least soon had an answer.

Their newborn son was diagnosed with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). A life-threatening condition, PPHN occurs when the baby’s circulatory system doesn’t adapt to breathing outside the uterus after birth. While in utero, the pulmonary arteries are still mostly closed; the fetus gets oxygen via the fetal circulatory system, using three small passages that collect oxygenated blood via mother’s umbilical cord and placenta. These shunts bypass the lungs, as they are not yet fully developed while in the womb.

After the baby is born and takes its first breath, the shunts close and the major blood vessels should open, allowing blood to travel from the lungs, where it picks up the oxygen the baby breathes, back to the heart where it then circulates throughout the body. In PPHN, those vessels don’t open fully, and a limited amount of oxygen is getting to the baby’s brain, heart and other vital organs.

“His little body just did not think that he was attached to me anymore, and he didn’t make the switch,” said Brittany. “His heart and lungs weren’t working as they should in an oxygen environment; they were working as though they were still attached to the umbilical cord and placenta.”

Hours later, a transport team from Golisano Children’s at UK arrived to take Tag to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), one of only two Level IV NICUs in Kentucky.

Once there, a specialized neonatal respiratory team, led by one of the neonatal medical directors Ashley M. Olszewski, D.O., sprang into action. Tag was put on a machine called a high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV). Sometimes referred to as a “vibrating CPAP,” the HFOV delivers small amounts of oxygen at a rapid rate. The machine vibrated the air sacs in Tag’s lungs, gently shaking them and the blood vessels open, while also maintaining constant lung expansion without damaging the delicate lung tissue. Brittany and Justin trusted Tag’s care team completely, even if the machine in question looked like it was from another era.

“HFOV is not ‘old’ so much as highly specialized,” said neonatologist Hubert O. Ballard, M.D., director of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) care at UK Golisano Children's and one of the physicians involved in Tag’s care. “We use it selectively when conventional ventilation cannot safely provide adequate oxygenation. In Tag’s case, HFOV allowed us to gently open his lungs and maintain oxygenation while minimizing ventilator‑induced lung injury. We do not use HFOV for every infant, but it remains an essential and life‑saving tool for a subset of critically ill newborns with severe respiratory failure or PPHN.”

Ballard estimates that he sees 40-50 infants with PPHN in the NICU each year, ranging from mild cases to the most severe forms requiring advanced respiratory and cardiovascular support. Tag Peterson fell into the latter category.

“At the most critical point in his illness, his chance of survival was approximately 50/50,” said Ballard. “This reflected the severity of his pulmonary hypertension and the degree of cardiopulmonary support he required early on.”

Tag’s lungs couldn’t pressurize; as a result, blood was bypassing the lungs, and unoxygenated blood was circulating through his body. His oxygen saturation dropped dangerously low, and the tissues of heart and lungs were becoming damaged from working overtime. Ballard and his team considered putting Tag on ECMO, a procedure that uses a machine to mechanically circulate oxygenated blood through the body, so that Tag’s lungs could rest and heal.

Justin went with Tag to UK Golisano Children’s, but Brittany was experiencing preeclampsia, a serious condition in which her blood pressure was dangerously high. She had to stay behind while Justin texted her updates.

“It was just the worst feeling in the world — sitting in a hospital bed, by yourself, while your not-even-24-hour-old baby is in critical condition in another hospital,” she said. Justin was told that Tag was the most critical baby in the NICU.

“He said, ‘We’re the worst-case scenario, but we’re in the best possible place,’” said Brittany. “We had the world’s best nurses and the world’s best doctors.”

Justin and Brittany felt helpless, only able to wait and pray. They spent two straight weeks at the hospital, reliant on a network of family members and friends to care for their other sons.

“It was a really hard balance for me,” said Brittany. “I have a 3-year-old who needs me. When I wasn’t in the hospital, I felt guilty that I left my baby there. When I was at the hospital, I felt guilty for leaving my 3-year-old.”

But physicians like Ballard consider a patient’s family essential members of the care team; the Petersons’ questions, advocacy and trust helped guide their infant son’s care.

“Tag’s parents were exceptional,” he said. “Their trust and engagement allowed us to provide everything that was necessary to give Tag the best possible chance.”

Making significant improvements

The Petersons adjusted to life in the NICU, becoming fast friends with Tag’s care team. It was hard, Brittany said, to see Tag hooked up to so many machines and monitors, not knowing when they could bring him home and start their new life as a family of six.

“I don’t know how many days I just cried,” said Brittany. She worried for Tag and their family. She mourned the lost ‘“firsts” — the first moments of snuggling their newborn baby, dressing him in his first outfit, sending the first photos to family and friends — all the small things that mothers spend months dreaming about. But the mourning gradually made room for gratitude — not just for the expert, compassionate care Tag received, but that her newborn son was fighting so hard to get better.

“Over time, they gave me more reassurance that Tag was starting to make significant improvements,” she said, “and I felt like I could breathe a little bit.”

Along with other therapies, such as medication to improve heart function and sedation so that Tag could tolerate the treatments comfortably, he slowly started to improve. He moved from the HFOV to a ventilator, then to a CPAP before weaning down to just a nasal cannula.

Nearly a month after arriving in the NICU, Tag was discharged and finally got home to his three big brothers. His journey continues, as he continues to face challenges. Because of the ventilator and feeding tube, Tag had to learn how to drink out of a bottle. He developed gastroesophageal reflux disease and has a hard time keeping formula down. His growth, respiratory health and overall development will continue to be monitored at UK's NICU Graduate Clinic.

“Tag’s course highlights the value of a multidisciplinary, experienced NICU team and access to advanced therapies,” said Ballard. “While PPHN can be life‑threatening, outcomes can be excellent when infants receive timely, coordinated and specialized care. Tag’s progress is a testament not only to modern neonatal medicine, but also to resilience — both his and his family’s.”

There are still some rough days, said Brittany. But Tag is tougher.

“He’s very strong,” she said. “He fought like hell just to stay here. He has the sweetest smile. He loves water, he loves being outside and he lights up when we sing little songs to him. He’s very opinionated and will let you know if he doesn’t like something real quick. But he’s a happy little dude. He’s happy to be here. He just had a rough start.”