Her Time in the Sun: MWPH Staff Worked Overtime to Make Patient's First Outdoor Outing a Reality

For the first 22 months of her life, patient Kehlani Swann has mostly stayed inside her hospital rooms. Born at 22 weeks, Kehlani has a number of complications from being born so prematurely. She uses a ventilator to breathe and gets nourishment via a feeding tube, making her mobility challenging. 

But her doctor, Michelle Chudow, has been working for the past few weeks to give Kehlani her time in the sun.

"It was important for me to get her outside because, despite all of her medical issues, I want her to be able to enjoy things in her life, and that means making sure that we're offering her new and different experiences, and particularly things that other kids get to do," Dr. Chudow said. "Just because she's a patient in a hospital doesn't mean that she isn't also a little girl, and I want her to be able to have as many of those little girl experiences as she can."

Dr. Chudow worked closely with Child Life and Therapeutic Recreation Clinical Specialist Adrienne Blizzard to make the outing possible.

Kehlani has been a patient at MWPH for almost a year. She has also received acute care at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the University of Maryland Medical Center.

With the help of Respiratory Therapist Christine Patterson, Kehlani and Dr. Chudow recently enjoyed the hospital’s community garden, taking in the beautiful late summer weather. One of MWPH’s facility dogs, Bata, even stopped by to visit.

A few minutes outside on a mild September morning may seem unremarkable for most children, but for Kehlani it was a huge step, Patterson said.

"She was so unstable for such a long period of time that we wouldn't even be able to take her to the playroom in the hospital. Basically, before, her quality of life was lying in a bed in the dark, trying not to be overstimulated, so that she wouldn't have any extreme episodes of distress." Patterson said. "The fact that she's come this far, that we can take her outside and have some normalization in her life is such a big deal."

Dr. Chudow said Kehlani's health has slowly improved as she has gotten older and her lungs have gotten stronger. Her medical team has also been able to adjust her medications and ventilator settings to improve her quality of life. Dr. Chudow said she hopes this little adventure will be the first of many outdoor excursions for Kehlani.

Both Chudow and Patterson said they and other MWPH staff members are very protective of Kehlani because of her significant health struggles. When Kehlani recently moved to another room in the hospital, the nurses looked out for her to make sure she was near a bright window.

"The hospital staff has become her extra family, and we really want to make sure that our little girl gets the best things that she can out of life,” Chudow said.