On the occasion of World Prematurity Day, Acıbadem Sistina Hospital organized an emotional meeting of premature children, their families and the team of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, marking 15 years of dedicated work, success stories and state-of-the-art care for the youngest patients.

It was a day filled with strong emotions, children's smiles, big hugs and tears of joy. A day when premature children, their parents, doctors and nurses reunited in a joint celebration of life. The premature babies, together with the team that took care of them from the first day, passed through a gate of balloons in the colors of premature babies – a symbol of the joint struggle, hope and victory from the first moments after their birth. Many of these little heroes today are teenagers, at the same age as this Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Acibadem Sistina.

“15 years of Neonatal Intensive Care – the first private Intensive Care Unit in the region. We started modestly, with only three intensive care units and enormous enthusiasm, and today we have grown into a modern department with 13 intensive care units. Almost 25,000 newborns have been born at our hospital, out of which about 13% were born prematurely under the 37^th week of gestation, and 10% of them required an intensive care. Each of these babies has a unique story and is member of our large NICU family”, said Simonida Spasevska, MD, Head of the Neonatology Department.

In one of the most emotional moments at the event, the doctors hugged their little patients, now grown-up children – a living proof that the fight was worth it.

“It is one of the happiest days in my career – 15 years spent at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. A wonderful anniversary, and you children are our greatest inspiration and reason we love what we do. We will continue with the same love and passion. Every moment, every sleepless night, every effort made – it was worth it seeing all these smiles today” – said Prim. Dushko Fidanovski, MD, PhD, and head of the Department of Pediatrics.