Tait and Lauren Zimmerman were married May 3, 2008. They joyfully found out that they were expecting their first child a month later. Six months into her pregnancy, Lauren began experiencing irregular contractions. After a rushed 20-mile drive to the midwives, during which time the young couple offered up many prayers for the safety of both mother and baby, it was discovered that the baby’s feet were already in the birth canal. Lauren was rushed in an ambulance to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, a 40-mile drive.
Tait received a call from the midwife en route informing him that there was no reversing the labor, and that his new son or daughter would be born that day. After arriving at the hospital, Tait and Lauren were given the difficult news that — because of the combination of the baby’s position and extreme prematurity — the baby would have to be delivered via C-section. The couple’s midwife tried to prepare Tait for all possible outcomes, and just prior to the surgery, Tait and Lauren committed their son to the Lord in prayer.
Tait Edward Zimmerman, Jr. was born November 6, a 27-week preemie, weighing just 2 pounds 9 ounces, and measuring 14 inches long. Amazingly, Little Tait was breathing on his own, though he did need significant breathing assistance over the next few months. Little Tait spent his first three months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Children’s Hospital at Providence in Anchorage, AK, connected to numerous feeding and oxygen tubes, wires, leads, and IV’s.
Tait and Lauren Zimmerman daily drove the 120-mile round trip to and from Anchorage for the first eight weeks to spend precious hours with their son, many times joined by Tait’s dedicated parents and sisters, and then were blessed to be able to stay in a small parent room off of Little Tait’s NICU room for his final five weeks in the hospital.
These three months were filled with strange new medical terms, and a whole education in newborn intensive care. Tait and Lauren found themselves looking forward to curious milestones — the removal of an IV, their son’s first feeding (from a syringe through a feeding tube), removal of the bili light and accompanying goggles, higher oxygen saturations, closure of his heart’s PDA valve, fewer apnea events, progression from the CPAP to Vapotherm, graduation to an open crib, satisfactory weight gains, first oral feeding, and first time unconnected to the plethora of cords, wires, and tubes.
When it came to reaching these milestones, however, Little Tait was on his own schedule. He took a somewhat longer than usual amount of time progressing with his breathing and then coordinating his breathing and eating. While these long months were some of the most difficult of Tait and Lauren’s lives, the Lord used them as a time of growth and provided daily opportunities to share their family’s hope and vision with many of Little Tait’s kind caretakers.
Little Tait finally came home on February 6, his three-month birthday, weighing 8 pounds 15 ounces. Today, he is a smiley, chubby, healthy little guy who brings constant joy to his parents. While he may need some therapies in the future, and has minor lung damage (common in babies who have been on extended breathing support), he faces no major medical challenges. Tait and Lauren are so thankful to the Lord for all the Lord has done in and through their precious son’s life, and pray that Little Tait would grow up to be a mighty man of God.
Early in their son’s stay, Tait and Lauren were approached by social workers, informing them that — because of their son’s low birth weight — Medicaid would automatically cover their hospital bills in full, as well as contribute to meals, lodging, transportation, and any future therapies. While it was definitely a tempting option to just sign their son’s substantial bill off to the taxpayers, and while social workers raised many arguments in favor of the government programs, Tait and Lauren sought counsel from and stood firm on their pre-marriage commitment not to accept government welfare, but to seek to cover the costs on their own, and with any help that the Lord would send through private support.
Tait and Lauren Zimmerman have developed a website telling Little Tait’s story and communicating their need to the Christian community.
Visit www.LittleTait.com for more information.