BILLINGS — A young Billings native, Giada Gonzales, recently closed her six-year chapter at St. Vincent Regional Hospital after fighting to survive in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Born at just 30 weeks in June 2019, Giada weighed only three pounds.
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"She was so tiny. It was scary to have to hold her because they didn't want to hurt her," her mother, Allysa Gonzales, recently recalled.
Giada finally got to leave the NICU, but her time at home was short-lived. Just three months later, she suffered from rhinovirus and RSV. These cases led to serious complications with her ability to breathe.
She was rushed to St. Vincent’s, where she continued to decline and developed fluid around her heart. In critical condition, Giada was transferred to Denver Children’s Hospital to get specialized care.
“She struggled really bad to survive. We weren’t sure if she was even going to make the flight,” Allysa said.
Undergoing one surgery after another, Giada’s nurse, Mandy Kaczmarek, described her as a spitfire.
“I think she’s always been that way, even when she was most sick, just resilient,” Kaczmarek added.
After six months in the hospital, Giada’s recovery continued back in Billings at St. Vincent's. Eventually, she returned home but continued to receive care over the next several years for a range of problems, including holes in her heart and a popped lung.
Giada and her family grew close with the team at St. Vincent.
“They put their all and their heart into taking care of every little patient they have, and during the months that we were here. We saw that it wasn’t just with Giada that they were taking such great care of, it was all the kids that were up here,” Allysa said.
After six years of in-and-out hospital visits, Giada returned to the hospital with her sister, Cori, to reunite with those who saved her life.
The family shared their story as the 11th annual Call for Kids Mediation was held to raise money for the St. Vincent Regional Hospital’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and Pediatric Surgery Program, something the Gonzaleses are grateful for.
“They were just so welcoming and inviting. The fact they took extra care of our family, not because they had to, but because they had a passion for the job,” her father, Steven Gonzales, said.
