By Elizabeth Stieber
Times Staff Writer
Bret Crane crawled from toy to toy, pushing buttons and having a good time.
His mother, Jennifer, bounced him on a large red ball, and he smiled and shrieked in delight. His father, Daniel, picked Bret up and held him as his son thirstily chugged a bottle of juice.
By all accounts, Bret is a normal, healthy, happy 13-month-old baby. But if it wasn’t for the advanced care that Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit provided to him over a year ago, Bret, who was born four months premature in May 2002, may not be here today, his parents say.
Jefferson saved Bret, and now the Cranes are doing their part to give back to the hospital unit that became such a large part of their lives.
The Cranes are taking part in the Big Walk for Little Feet on Sept. 21, an annual three-mile walkathon that raises money for Jefferson Hospital’s NIC unit.
Last year, they walked in the marathon. This year they’re taking an active role promoting the walkathon, which will start at 12th and Market streets and end at 16th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
“We know how important this event is to help save more babies like Bret,” his mother said.
Now in its third year, Big Walk for Little Feet raises money for research and to help fund ventilators that are less harsh on premature babies’ tiny, underdeveloped bodies.
Last year, the walkathon raised more than $30,000.
Jefferson University Hospital has the largest neonatal care program in the Philadelphia area and has treated young patients from across the country. Luckily, it was close enough for the Rhawnhurst couple to quickly transport their ailing newborn.
It was a nightmare that Jennifer and Daniel Crane had lived before. In May 2001, Jennifer gave birth to a baby girl four and a half months premature who died shortly after the delivery.
Jennifer Crane was in her 23rd week of pregnancy with Bret when, on May 16, 2002, she started to feel contractions — exactly one year to the day when she went into labor with her first child.
“We were watching TV, and I started to feel back pains,” she recalled.
She timed them, and after a half hour of feeling sharp pains every three minutes, she knew she was going into labor.
“(Daniel) kept telling me it’s all in my head,” she said, explaining that the anniversary of her first baby’s birth was on her mind.
The couple went to Frankford Hospital’s Torresdale Campus, where Jennifer was placed in the triage unit. The doctor told her she was dilated 1 centimeter.
“I thought, ‘I can’t believe I’m going through this again,’” she said.
Bret Howard Crane was born four months premature on May 21, the same day his sister was born and died. He weighed in at just 1 pound, 4 ounces, and was 12-1/4 inches long. He fit in the palm of Jennifer’s hand.
Because of Bret’s early delivery, his body was not fully formed, particularly his lungs and eyes. Doctors placed him on a ventilator. After just three weeks, Bret developed air pockets in his lungs, and he couldn’t breathe. He had to be sent immediately to the neonatal intensive care unit at Jefferson Hospital.
He spent three months at Jefferson, which became a second home to Jennifer and Daniel Crane. They met other parents whose premature children also were in the NIC unit.
Talking to other parents who were going through the same ordeal “helped a lot,” Jennifer said.
Bret came home on Sept. 12, just one day after Jennifer’s scheduled due date. For three months, his tiny lungs were given oxygen through a large metal tank and he was hooked up to a heart and lung monitor for five months. Nurses, nutritionists and therapists stopped by often to monitor his progress.
Bret has undergone eight surgeries since coming home, including four operations on his eyes. He has to wear glasses, but he just takes them off every time mom or dad puts them on.
He also had to learn to use just one hand. Bret’s fingers on his right hand had to be amputated because the circulation in his fingers was cut off by an arterial line that he was hooked up to in the hospital.
It also doesn’t help that he immediately takes off the prosthetic hand and throws it across the room every time mom or dad tries to slip it on his little arm.
Bret seems to be fine even with just five fingers. He can hold his bottle, eat food and play with his toys like every other baby.
“The only thing I can think of that he won’t be able to do is tie his shoes,” Jennifer said. “Other than that, he can do whatever he wants.”
The therapists, who still stop by once a week, help Bret with his motor and verbal skills.
Today, the 13-month-old Bret is just a few months behind on growth development, Jennifer said, adding that his level is comparable to that of a 9- or 10-month-old baby. He has eight teeth, crawls, and is learning how to walk. He’s still learning how to use non-verbal communication, like pointing to what he wants.
“He loves life,” Jennifer said. “He’s always smiling, and he’ll go to anybody.”
Jennifer and Daniel Crane remain friends with the parents they met in the NIC unit, and Bret regularly plays with his “NIC buddies.”
They’re all planning to walk together at the walkathon, and Jefferson University Hospital has organized a Halloween party and reunion for families who were in the NIC unit with their children during the same time period. ••
For more information about Jefferson University Hospital’s Big Walk for Little Feet or to make a donation, call 215-955-6300.
Reporter Elizabeth Stieber can be reached at 215-354-3036 or estieber@phillynews.com