CASEY’S tiniest fighter, baby Nico Arnold, is finally home. After seven months of daily trips from Berwick to Clayton’s Monash Medical Centre, the Arnolds were last week rejoicing being a ‘‘normal family’’ again. When mother Karin Arnold went into labour 14 weeks’ prematurely on October 12, doctors gave Nico a 50 per cent chance of surviving. Mrs Arnold said Nico was 710g, slightly larger than a 390ml Coke bottle, and wore nappies the size of a $5 note when born.
Picture: GUY THAYER. N48BLNICO
Above: The Arnold family – Karin, Geoff and big sister Brooklyn – are delighted to have baby Nico home after his seven months in hospital.
But after months in a humidity crib in the special care nursery, the pint-sized battler has packed on 4.5kg and about 23cms.
Last week doctors gave him the all-clear to go home.
Speaking to the Leader on their arrival at home, Mrs Arnold said the family was ‘‘relieved and excited – all at once’’. ‘‘It’s just so great to all be home together again.
‘‘My husband and I have been alternating shifts at Monash every day for the past seven months,’’ Mrs Arnold said.
‘‘We’ve hardly been in the same room together. We’ll be happy not to see the inside of a hospital again for a while.’’
Mrs Arnold said Nico’s biggest fan was his sister – two-year-old Brooklyn.
‘‘She is just so happy to have her little brother home.
‘‘ She’s been waking up every morning saying ‘ is Nico home yet?’. She just loves him,’’ she said. ‘‘And she obviously loves having Mum and Dad both home together.
‘‘We’re a normal family again. We won’t know what to do with ourselves with all this spare time.’’
Mrs Arnold said Nico was not entirely out of the woods yet.
‘‘He came home on oxygen, and we’ll have to pop back every couple of weeks for monitoring,’’ she said.
‘‘He’ll be on oxygen for about six months. But he certainly won’t be housebound. We’ll have him out and about as much as possible, after spending so much time inside.’’
