When Landon Ray Orsag was born 14 weeks early at College Station Medical Center, he weighed just 30 ounces, a tiny little boy whose lungs were not developed enough to breathe without assistance. He quickly developed pulmonary interstitial emphysema (PIE), a life-threatening condition requiring immediate transfer to a NICU where respiration can be supported by a high frequency ventilator. His mother, Holly Orsag, chose The McLane Company NICU at Scott & White, a facility that ranks among the top 3 percent in the world based on survival rate and other measures of excellence applied to neonatal care facilities.

The Scott & White neonatal transport team arrived by helicopter, equipped with a new airborne incubator, or isolette, a gift from McLane Company, Inc. to the Children’s Miracle Network at Scott & White. The new isolette provides a high-tech environment that maintains optimal temperature and humidity, and uses a high-frequency ventilator to provide respiration assistance for very premature infants. Pumping air into the delicate lungs of a newborn at a rate of up to 900 gentle puffs per minute, high-frequency ventilators are crucial to maintaining safe and adequate ventilation in babies born with immature lungs. The new isolette enabled the transport team to immediately place Landon on the high-frequency ventilator, giving him a head start on the lifesaving treatment during the flight back to Temple.

Landon spent three months in the NICU, two weeks of that time on the high-frequency ventilator. Today, Landon is 2 years old, weighs over 30 pounds, and loves to throw a ball. This lucky little boy has a fighting chance for a full life; thanks to the generosity of McLane Company teammates, a highly skilled transport team armed the most advanced medical equipment available, and the world class medical care provided by the Children’s Hospital at Scott & White.

By Virginia Feaster, Children’s Miracle Network