Honor Baby Vivianne

Ultrasounds showed the severity of Vivianne’s diagnosis – an omphalocele, a rare birth defect where babies are born with internal organs outside their body. It was life-threatening to the point that doctors advised terminating the pregnancy.

My husband Cooper and I chose to hope – and to research the best place to deliver our first baby. After visiting Community Regional Medical Center in downtown Fresno, I knew it was the only place for my family, and it ended up being the place that saved both her life and mine.

During delivery on March 29, 2018, things did not go according to plan. A heart condition forced me to have an emergency C-section. My heart rate spiked to more than twice the normal range, and it took trauma doctors all night to stabilize me enough to deliver. 

When Vivi was born, she wasn’t breathing. She had severe high blood pressure, and a blockage wouldn’t allow her to eat. She needed major surgery to repair her complex issues, and it was absolutely heart wrenching to watch my newborn get wheeled into the operating room. 

But the result was better than we ever dreamed possible. During her two-month stay at Community Regional’s Level 3 NICU, we saw incredible miracles happen and Vivi’s recovery amazed everyone. Community Regional also amazed us, not only with its Level 1 Trauma Center and NICU, but with the compassionate care given to our whole family.

That includes Terry’s House, the home away from home just across the street from the hospital where we lived during Vivi’s time in the NICU. There were always smiles, hugs and prayers whenever we got “home,” plus warm meals and a nice place to rest. We will never forget how the staff at Community made us feel comfortable during the hardest moments of our lives.

Jacki Johnson
Grateful patient and Vivi's proud mother