Akosua was born at Reston Hospital on October 26, 2025, at just 1 pound, 1 ounce — and more than 5,000 miles from her home in Ghana.
Her mother, Afua, was 23 weeks pregnant when she traveled to the U.S. to attend her cousin’s wedding last fall. She flew to Dulles International Airport and planned to spend a few days in Northern Virginia visiting family and friends before continuing to Houston.
But on the third day of her trip, she wasn’t feeling well and went to the emergency room at StoneSprings Hospital in Sterling.
Doctors there determined that Afua, whose last name is withheld for her privacy, was already 6 centimeters dilated. She was transported to Reston Hospital, which was better equipped to deliver and care for a micro preemie.
A Happy Reunion
Last week, Afua and her baby girl returned to Reston Hospital. It was an emotional reunion with the neonatologist and nurses who had become like family over the course of the 172 days Akosua spent in the NICU.
“As much as I have fantastic doctors back home in Ghana, I think the majority of them told me that assuming it had happened back home, the outcome would possibly have been different,” Afua says. “For a 23-weeker, chances of survival back home would probably have been close to none. The infrastructure to support a baby [born that early] is close to nonexistent. The assurance I was getting back home was to be thankful it’s happened where it has.”
The Reston Hospital NICU is staffed by Children’s National doctors who were prepared to care for a micro preemie. Although good outcome cannot be guaranteed.
“I do have to tell you, in the big picture, we see lots of 23-week babies and they don’t all have good outcomes. I mean, she’s a real miracle,” says Dr. Mariam Said, medical director of Neonatal Intensive Care, Reston Hospital Center and attending neonatologist, Children’s National Hospital. Said guided Akosua through months of critical care, setbacks, and milestones.
“I think that the partnership between Children’s National and HCA [Healthcare] allows us to care for babies like this,” Said says. “If this was prior to our partnership, she would have been transferred to another facility, which likely puts her at much higher risk for intraventricular hemorrhage and other adverse outcomes just from the transport alone. … [This partnership] allows us to care for the sickest of the sick jointly and serve the community in a really meaningful way.”
Bringing Comfort and Hope
Akosua didn’t have an easy road to being where she is today. But Afua says the doctors and nurses in the NICU gave her comfort and hope.
“At a point in time she had pneumonia. She had to be reintubated several times. And most of the time, you might have a partner to share this with, but my husband wasn’t around. And to have the nurses and the doctors just hug and say, ‘It will be OK,’” offered so much comfort, Afua says. Her husband was back home in Ghana caring for their 3-year-old daughter. He was able to visit after Akosua was born, but the 3-year-old wasn’t able to meet Akosua yet because she was still in isolation.
“[Afua’s] whole family was just a joy. And one thing I will say about this unit in particular: This becomes a family,” Said says. “Even if you’re not here for 100 days, it really does become a family.”
Afua was able to leave the hospital with Akosua after deciding to have a procedure to put in a G tube for feeding until she’s able to eat on her own.
“The G tube’s not forever. It’s a bridge to get her home,” Said says. “It’s a big decision to make. But at the same time, we know developmentally, being home with [her mom] 24/7 is the most beneficial thing.”
‘God Sent Amazing Angels’
Afua and Akosua left Reston Hospital for Children’s National to have the G tube procedure. They were then discharged to where Afua is living temporarily in NoVA. So mom and baby didn’t get to have the graduation from the Reston Hospital NICU that Afua had seen so many families have.
She wanted to get back to see the staff who she’d become so close to. Happy tears ensued as Afua held her now 9-pound baby in front of the NICU’s Wall of Hope. Akosua was passed around to all of the staff who’d missed her.
Afua and Akosua will stay in the U.S. for now, where she has access to the doctors who can best care for her G tube. Afua says she plans to keep coming back to visit her hospital family, including when her husband and older daughter visit this summer.
“God sent amazing angels when we had no idea it was her time to be on Earth … and they held her until she was ready to go home,” Afua says.
Feature photo of mom Afua, baby Akosua, Dr. Mariam Said (in black dress) and Reston Hospital staff, courtesy Children’s National Hospital
