A joyous happy birthday was sung to a miracle baby last week in the overflowing Bison Conference Room at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.
Anna and Jacob Ames, of Blackfoot, shared the first birthday celebration of their son, Logan, with the staff from the hospital’s Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Logan was born June 22, 2025, at 22 weeks and 1 day of gestation at Mountain View Hospital in Idaho Falls. Survival rates for extremely premature babies born in the second trimester are between 10 percent and 20 percent. He was transferred to the NICU at 6 days old.
“One year ago my family entered a chapter of our lives that we never could have imagined,” Anna said. “Our son Logan was born, and he weighed only 1 pound, 4 ounces. At the time we didn’t know what the future would hold. We didn’t know how much time we’d have with him. We knew that we loved him, and were going to fight for every moment that we could.”
“That’s when I began documenting every milestone.”
Many of Logan’s early milestones occurred in the NICU.
Gina Anglin, EIRMC nursing director for women and children, said Logan is the hospital’s youngest-surviving NICU baby. Babies born at less than 26 weeks of gestation are called micro-preemies.
“Logan is our guest of honor,” Anglin said. “He has proven that micro-preemies possess a micro strength. He fought with every breath, won every milestone and showed all of us the true meaning of courage and resilience. Happy birthday, Logan.
“They became a part of our family here at EIRMC,” Anglin said. “So many of our NICU staff have created long-lasting relationships with Logan, Anna and Jacob.”
The NICU at EIRMC provides the highest level of neonatal care in Southeast Idaho and Western Wyoming. It’s staffed 24/7 with neonatologists and pediatric specialists and supports critically ill newborns and premature infants born as early as 22 weeks of gestation.
Before Logan was born, the Ames had already dealt with grief from the premature loss of twin girls at 20 weeks of gestation just two years prior.
“There were times we wondered if we would ever get the chance to bring a baby home,” Anna said. “Then came Logan. From the very beginning he showed us what courage looks like. He fought through challenges that seemed impossible.”
Logan celebrated his actual due date of Oct. 25 at EIRMC. Before graduating from the NICU and going home on Dec. 8, he fought many battles.
“During Logan’s 169 days in the NICU we learned that miracles don’t always happen in a single moment,” Anna said. “Sometimes miracles happen one day at a time, one breath at a time, one procedure at a time, one caregiver at a time.”
“Logan is a tiny, fragile fighter,” Anglin said. “He’s had a huge impact on so many of us. Look around the room today and see how many people are here to celebrate Logan and his amazing journey.”
Dr. Jordan Simpson, one of the neonatologists in the NICU, spoke about Logan’s stay.
“We love taking care of Logan,” Simpson said. “We still talk about him all the time. He has been gone for quite a while, but we still talk about him all the time.”
According to Simpson, Logan had to overcome multiple obstacles. Initially he had a bowel perforation that required surgery necessitating his arrival from Mountain View. Ileostomies in premature infants are life-saving surgeries used to divert stool away from the lower digestive tract, allowing a perforated bowel to heal.
Logan also required a G-tube, Simpson said. The gastrostomy tube is a small, flexible medical device inserted directly through the abdomen into a baby’s stomach for feeding.
“Multiple blood transfusions,” Simpson added, “lots of those. And multiple courses of antibiotics.”
Logan’s most serious problem though was an acute kidney injury.
“He just completely stopped urinating for about six and a half days,” Simpson said. “Once you kind of start hitting that four-day mark, they just usually don’t recover. So we prepped the family.”
That led to difficult conversations with Anna and Jacob about Logan probably not surviving.
“They told us that we should consider pulling the plug, and then he started going to the bathroom that night,” Jacob said.
“Logan is a fighter,” Simpson said. “He’s still here with us. He overcame all those obstacles. He is truly a miracle baby, and we’re so happy to celebrate him today.”
His time in the NICU left a lasting impression on many.
“EIRMC became our home away from home,” Anna said, “and we’ve been back more than once over the last six months when Logan’s been sick, this time being treated on the pediatric floor.”
Hospital staffers welcomed the Ames family for Logan’s birthday party.
“It’s celebrating the absolute resilience of Logan and his family,” Anglin said. “Anna hardly ever left Logan’s side, and Jacob came as often as he could. They’re an amazing family, and they’ve done so much with Logan.”
The four neonatal nurse practitioners formed an especially tight bond with the family.
“The NICU nurses are always at bedside doing a great job taking care of these babies,” Simpson said. “They learn to love these babies, love the families and build lifelong relationships with them.”
Families of babies in the NICU have an important role.
“We love to have families on rounds and participate in their baby’s care,” Simpson said. “You guys were great at it. They were there all the time participating in rounds. We bring the whole team around, talk to the parents and go over the plan for the day, so they know exactly what’s going on.”
That inclusion helped Anna and Jacob.
“There were moments we celebrated the smallest victories, a stable day, a little weight gain, a good report from one of his doctors,” Anna said, “and there were moments we were told to prepare for the worst.”
The party gave Logan’s parents an opportunity to publicly acknowledge the NICU.
“We aren’t just celebrating Logan’s most significant milestone yet,” Anna said. “We are celebrating every nurse who sat at Logan’s bedside and cared for him like he was their own child or celebrating every physician, every respiratory therapist technician and support staff member who played an incredible role in his journey,” Anna said.
“We will never forget the people who stood beside him and beside us through every high and low,” she said. “Today Logan is home. He weighs an amazing 18 pounds and is wearing 6- to 9-months-old clothes. He is growing. He is learning. He has the sweetest smile and personality that keeps us laughing every day.
“Thank you for helping us create memories we once feared we would never have,” Anna said. “When we look at Logan we see a miracle. We also see the countless hands and hearts that helped us make our miracle possible. We are forever grateful. Thank you all for celebrating our son with us. Happy birthday Logan, we love you.”
Relationships forged in the NICU are strong.
“I’m good friends with several of the nurses now,” Anna said.
“She still regularly texts a lot of the nurses,” Jacob said.
“I want to give praise to the neonatologist who really took a personal interest,” Jacob added. “Whenever the doctors were on duty they would stay beyond what is necessary and support us.”
Anna offers this advice to parents who find their babies in the NICU.
“Lean on each other,” she said. “Enjoy every moment you can.”
Another aspect is the financial cost of such care.
“We were blessed that we were recipients of Secret Santa last year,” Anna said. “That was a huge help.”
She also said they have good insurance.
Idaho’s Katie Beckett program also helped the family. It is a Medicaid pathway that allows children with disabilities or complex medical needs to receive care at home.
Logan continues to need medical care.
“He’s going to need multiple checkups,” Simpson said. “He’ll have surgical checkups and will have a lot of therapy.”
Being born that premature also means checking for eye problems.
“He’ll have an ophthalmology follow-up,” Simpson said. “He’ll have many, many follow-ups.”
Yet the Ames family has handled everything thrown at them.
“There were difficult conversations which are very emotional,” Simpson said, “but they always kept all that hope and kept fighting and fighting with Logan until he overcame a lot of those things. He just made it to his first birthday, and it looks like he’s doing pretty well.”