Meet Lyric

Nationwide Children’s Hospital is the only home Lyric has ever known. 20 months old now, Lyric has lived at the hospital since he was only eight weeks old. That hasn’t stopped him from growing into a spunky, curious, into-everything toddler. He loves opening and closing doors. He loves being involved in his therapies, which include music, massage and physical therapy. He has an irresistible smile. His mother, Keahley, doesn’t take any of that for granted.

On February 19, 2025, Keahley gave birth after 28 weeks of pregnancy at the OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus. Babies born before 37 weeks of gestation are considered premature, but babies born even earlier have significant challenges. Because organs like the heart and lungs are not completely developed, these infants usually require intensive support in their first days and weeks of life. Lyric’s lungs were too weak to sustain him, and he was immediately placed on mechanical ventilation.

While ventilation is necessary and lifesaving, it can create new problems for delicate babies. The oxygen helps them breathe, but the pressure of the air pushing into their tiny lungs can cause damage, leading to a condition called bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Babies with BPD need special medical support until they can grow and heal enough to breathe on their own.

After eight weeks — 36 weeks gestational age — Lyric still needed ventilation. He was diagnosed with BPD, transferred to Nationwide Children’s Comprehensive Center for Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia and has been there ever since. Every BPD patient is on their own timeline, and the Nationwide Children’s team will continue caring for Lyric long after he can breathe on his own and go home with his family. His team will be there for him for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, Lyric is making great progress. He is walking and learning to talk. “I’ve never felt more confident in a hospital to take care of my child than I do with Nationwide Children’s,” Keahley says. From doctors who explained Lyric’s care in detail to nurses who put her mind at ease and ensured the family had everything they needed, Keahley is grateful for the kindness of the Nationwide Children’s team. “I felt lost at first,” she says. “But they gave me plenty of information and love my son the way I do.”

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