Baby Mateo is Home!

WAITSBURG - Six months 20 days; 28 weeks, 4 days; 200 days; 4800 hours - however you want to count it down, it's been a long time coming.

Those calculations track the time Baby Mateo, son of Taryn (Thomas) Aguiar and Jose Aguiar of College Place and grandson of Gary and Jill Thomas of Waitsburg, spent in the NICU at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital in Spokane before he could be welcomed home. That all changed on June 2, however, and Mateo is now at home in the arms of his grateful parents.

The Aguiars found out they would be first-time parents in June of 2013. Not only would they be parents, but they learned they were pregnant with twins, who they named Sebastion and Mateo. On November4, during a routine checkup, the couple learned that Sebastion had passed on, but that Mateo was still doing well. On November 11, Taryn's water broke and she was flown to Spokane where she underwent an emergency C-section. Mateo entered the world weighing a mere 1 lb. 3 oz.

Friends and family provided financial, physical and emotional support over the difficult months that followed. After many ups and downs and a series of surgeries, Mateo is finally home and doing well. The Aguiar's have asked for privacy as they get settled into their home and into a routine with their "miracle man" who still has a very low immune system. "Thank you for such amazing support," said Taryn. "We are forever grateful."