Six Months in the NICU Cedars-Sinai Skip to main content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Los Angeles, 20 March 2020 08:06 AM America/Los_Angeles Ventura County Star No Place Like Home This Six-Month-Old Baby has Yet to Leave the NICU Janessa Torres' family, from left to right, big brother Victor Jr., mom Marlen, Janessa and dad Victor Sr. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. The Ventura County Star recently interviewed David Bliss, MD, a pediatric general surgeon, about one of his patients, Janessa Torres, who has spent the first six months of her life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Cedars-Sinai. The baby girl was born at 34 weeks with a condition called gastroschisis, a condition in which a baby's intestines sprout outside of the body while in utero through a hole near the bellybutton. The condition happens for unknown reasons and affects 1 in every 4,000 births. Janessa was also born with dextrocardia, meaning her heart points to the right side of her chest instead of the left. She has undergone countless surgeries – too many for her mother Marlen to count – and is not yet ready to visit her home for the first time in Ventura, Calif. At least once a week, Marlen makes the two-hour journey from Ventura to Cedars-Sinai to visit her daughter and receive updates on her care. She stays overnight in a nearby Ronald McDonald House, then leaves before the sun rises so she can make it to work on time. "She made a decision out of necessity," said Bliss, referring to Torres' weekday marathons. "It speaks to the kind of person she is. Most people would crumble, just fall apart. She is made of tougher stuff than I am." Janessa has faced so many health challenges during her short life that the NICU nurses nicknamed her "Wonder Woman." When first born, Janessa weighed only 5 pounds, but today, she tips the scales at 15 pounds, making her the largest resident in the NICU. If she continues gaining weight and is able to eat without tubes, Bliss says her chances of a full recovery are good. "There is sort of a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow, which is the potential for an absolutely normal child," said Bliss. Click here to watch the video, view the photos and read the complete story from the Ventura County Star. Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Faces of Cedars-Sinai: Social Worker Randie Cloutier Chaine Related Stories RSS feed - Related Stories (opens in new window) View all headlines - Related Stories Daya s Mystery What Was Causing a Young Girl s Internal Bleeding September 02, 2022 06:00 AM America/Los_Angeles The Dhillon family seemed to be living the California dream, enjoying the waterway just steps from their home on Naples Island. But a little more than five years ago, when their daughter, Daya, began … Read more Q&A Advice for a Healthy Stress-Free Return to School August 18, 2022 06:01 AM America/Los_Angeles For the past two-plus years, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted children’s education and frustrated parents. Today, with the back-to-school season in full swing, Suzanne Silverstein, MA, ART, … Read more Hyperactivation of the Immune System May Cause Post-COVID Syndromes July 07, 2022 09:00 AM America/Los_Angeles Investigators at Cedars-Sinai have proposed a theory for how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, infects the body. Their hypothesis, published in Frontiers in Immunology, could explain why … Read more Show previous items Show next items Contact the Media Team Email: [email protected] Share this release Ventura County Star No Place Like Home Share on: Twitter Share on: Facebook Share on: LinkedIn Search Our Newsroom Social media Visit our Facebook page (opens in new window) Follow us on Twitter (opens in new window) Visit our Youtube profile (opens in new window) (opens in new window) Latest news 07 Oct 2022 - HealthDay: Black Women Less Likely to Get Laparoscopic Fibroid Surgeries 07 Oct 2022 - Faculty Publications: Sept. 29-Oct. 6 07 Oct 2022 - Fine-Tuning Organ-Chip Technology 06 Oct 2022 - KCRW: Want New Omicron Booster? Wait at Least 2 Months After Last Shot 05 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Schedules Free Flu Vaccine Clinics 04 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Showcases Hispanic and Latinx Art Newsroom Home