March 13th, 2020 was a day the La Greca family will always remember.  It was a full moon, Friday the 13th, and the day their son was born via emergency c-section 8 weeks premature.  Nico was born with multiple congenital complications.  He had a diaphragmatic hernia, causing all the digestive organs to be pushed up into his chest.  This has caused him to have a left lung that is about half the size it should be and pulmonary hypertension.  Doctors knew this prior to delivery, but what they did not know was that he also had esophageal atresia.  Nico’s esophagus was not attached to anything, and his stomach was attached to his windpipe.  These two conditions on their own are very serious, but to occur together is extremely rare.  Nico’s surgeon did some research and found that he was 1 of 18 babies worldwide known to have survived surgery needed to repair both conditions.  In his first 2 weeks of life he underwent 2 major surgeries, and multiple blood transfusions, earning him the nickname Mighty Nico.  Over the course of 159 days at Oishei’s Children’s Hospital, Nico has had his fair share of miracles and set-backs.  He will continue to have lifelong challenges to overcome his conditions.  The family has spent countless hours at the hospital, driven over 22,000 miles in less than 6 months, all while continuing to work and care for their daughter Lilly.  The last 6 months have been overwhelmingly challenging and the Covid-19 pandemic has made it exponentially worse.  Nico had to be tested for the virus 3 times when he suffered respiratory setbacks to make sure he didn’t have any exposure.  This also limited the family’s ability to visit to only one parent at a time and Lilly did not get to meet her brother until the day he came home.  Now that Nico is being cared for at home there are new challenges for the family to overcome.  Home modifications and adaptive tools to help Nico thrive will be necessary.  Nico will also need adaptive clothing to help accommodate his stomach feeding tubes.  Despite all the challenges, Nico is a bright and happy baby.  His family is beyond thrilled to have him home and finally settle in as a family.