ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996 TAG: 9602070070
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
At a little over 13 months old, Lagree Benefield is a real live wire who knows what he likes and will squinch up his face and yell until he gets it.
His favorite things?
Pepsi, whenever Grandma Lucille Hewitt tries to drink one.
An ice cream sandwich when his surrogate granddad, Sam Butler, arrives with the dessert in the bag.
The stethoscope and pocket pens belonging to his pediatrician, Dr. Mark McBride.
Lagree is more than a little spoiled, said his mother, Angela Benefield. And no wonder.
Lagree was an "extreme preemie," the classification for a baby born before 27 weeks' gestation. When he was on born Dec. 13, 1994, at 23 weeks, he wasn't expected to live. About a third of such babies don't.
Lagree is Benefield's only child, born after a series of miscarriages and the delivery of one baby who lived an hour and another who was dead at birth.
Several times during the months Lagree was in the hospital, doctors recommended that he be allowed to die rather than be hooked up to artificial life support.
But the family persisted, and Lagree made it through surgeries to repair hernias and a hole in his stomach. Last April 27, after almost $250,000 in medical expenses paid by Medicaid, he went home, hooked to an oxygen tank and a breathing monitor. He was 4 1/2 months old.
Lagree was freed of the need for constant oxygen in August, but he still can't walk or sit up without support. His stomach muscles aren't working properly yet, and his feet prefer a tippy-toed position.
Delayed development of the muscles that allow the body to flex is typical of a premature baby, especially one whose entrance was as early as Lagree's. He probably won't walk until he 's about 3.
If you go strictly by age, premature babies generally lag in development because they weren't through growing when they were born, McBride said.
Another problem a preemie faces is the possibility that the oxygen used to keep him alive might affect his vision.
So far, Lagree's eyesight looks OK, McBride said.
"He certainly seems alert and vigilant; he looks around and recognizes faces and objects that are held in front of him," the doctor said. "For a premature baby, he is so active that you cannot take your hand off of him for a minute."
Lagree weighed 5 pounds, 3 ounces when McBride first saw him last May. At his January checkup, he weighed 14 pounds, 9 ounces and had grown in length from 17 inches to 25 3/4.
"That was excellent," McBride said.
The family members' eagerness to work with Lagree, along with the occupational and physical therapists who have seen him, was a big factor in the youngster's progress, McBride said.
Parents of premature babies often react in one of two ways, the doctor said. They withdraw and deny that they have a premature baby and don't participate normally in the infant's care. Or they put all of their energy and time into the baby, somewhat like Lagree's family has done.
Special `firsts'
Lagree is the center of a family that's both "blended" and "extended." The household includes Hewitt, the grandmother; Benefield, who is Hewitt's youngest child; Betty Short, who used to be married to Hewitt's brother, which makes her Lagree's great-aunt, sort of; and James Letterman, who as Hewitt's nephew is Lagree's cousin.
Rounding out the "family" are Butler, who has been Hewitt's friend for many years, and Joe Burwell Jr., who is Lagree's father and lives with his family nearby.
This group enjoys being together. They love to fish. Butler and Letterman sing in their church choir. But nothing cements the adults more than Lagree. They're like an assembly line determined to produce a high-quality human.
Butler's first words when he walks in the door are: "Where's the boy?" His next: "Gimme that boy."
He and Lagree have a routine. The baby pulls Butler's ear, Butler yells, and the baby pulls harder.
Butler bought the "Talk to Me Bear," which repeats everything it hears, for Lagree's birthday.
"With all the toys he owns, it costs a fortune to keep him in batteries," Butler said.
Lagree's clothing collection also represents a substantial investment.
As soon as Benefield learned she was pregnant, the family began buying baby clothes.
In the first year of his life, Lagree never wore the same outfit twice, except when he put one back on for a portrait.
Lagree was in two different outfits during his Sept. 24 christening service at the First Baptist Church of Vinton. For the ceremony, he wore a white satin romper, white knee socks and satin shoes; for the remainder of the service, he relaxed in a preppy red, white and blue pants-and-sweater set.
The circumstances of his birth also have made his "firsts" more special, and Burwell has recorded every step of his son's development.
By December, Burwell had nine videos of Lagree's activities. Lagree at the park. The first tooth. The second tooth. The third tooth. The fourth tooth. Lagree at his 1-year birthday party.
Nothing lights up Lagree's eyes more than Burwell singing "Bye, Baby Buttons," except maybe the opportunity to pull on Granddad Butler's ear.
Time-consuming care
When Lagree came home from the hospital last April, Hewitt held him, sighed with relief, and said:
"I'm so glad this long haul is coming to an end. It's been a nightmare. Every day has been a nightmare.''
At that point, she hadn't eaten at home but a few times in two months because she had been at the hospital with Lagree.
Meals at home are no longer a problem, and the day-to-day worry about Lagree's survival is gone. But having him home has been been harder than the family expected, his grandmother said.
"Taking care of a preemie baby is very time-consuming. You have to check on them more often," Hewitt said. "Sometimes I get up at night and watch him sleep."
Lagree is her seventh grandchild, but she doesn't see much of the others, who are the children of Benefield's half brothers and half-sisters. They live in Georgia and Illinois.
From the time Lagree got home, his grandmother insisted on being the lead caretaker. He spent nights in his room so she could easily hear the alarm on his breathing monitor.
Premature babies have attacks of apnea - when they temporarily stop breathing - and Lagree has had his share of them. They come less often now.
Just before his birthday in December, Lagree had to be rushed to the emergency room two nights in a row because he was wheezing so badly. Premature babies often wheeze, but his breathing sounded frightening, Benefield said.
Because of his attack, she increased Lagree's breathing treatments to every two to three hours for two weeks. For the third time since he was born, he had to take amoxicillin.
With Hewitt on night duty and Benefield the main daytime caretaker, Letterman, the family teen-ager, often took the breakfast shift, especially in the early months.
The 17-year-old got up at 5 to change and feed Lagree before leaving for classes at William Fleming High School, where he is a junior and a member of ROTC and on the A-B honor roll.
Lagree is his ``Booger''; he carries a picture of the baby as a newborn and one of him now and likes to show them to friends.
"They can't believe it," Letterman said.
Lagree's mother says she can't either.
"The year flew by," she said.
Lagree is her "little man" these days, Benefield said. She just gave him his first grownup haircut.
LENGTH: Long : 158 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. - 4. Photos by KEITH GRAHAM/STAFF Scenes fromby CNBLagree's first year: (Far left) Last April, at age 4 months with his
mom, Angela Benefield, during a visit at the neonatal unit of
Community Hospital. He weighed 3-1/2 pounds. (Left) For Lagree's
first birthday cake, a mere single candle wasn't enough. He had
nine. (Below) With his dad, Joe Burwell Jr., last September when
Lagree weighed 11 pounds, 7 ounces. ``He's something else,'' said
his dad. Lagree (inset) now weighs 14 pounds, 14-1/2 ounces. color
5. - 6. When pediatric physical therapist Jo Svitzer (left) examined
Lagree last June he weighed almost 7 pounds but still needed oxygen.
Grandma Lucille Hewitt (above) plays quietly with Lagree during the
church service in October when the baby was christened. Lagree
weighed nearly 13 pounds.
7. Lagree's first birthday party, back in December. ``I went
all-out,'' said his grandmother, Lucille Hewitt. ``I got everything
to match.''