“Thankful Doesn’t Even Cover It”: One Family’s Journey Through High-Risk Pregnancy, the NICU and Recovery at Touro

For Angelle Romano, Touro in New Orleans isn’t just the hospital where she delivered her children—it’s where her nursing career began. A former Labor and Delivery nurse at Touro from 2012 to 2019, Angelle knew she would be in expert hands when a rare and high-risk pregnancy brought her back. This time, she was a patient.

What she didn’t expect was just how deeply she and her family would come to rely on every department and every hand that reached out to help.

A High-Risk Journey Begins

Metairie, La., residents Angelle and her husband Michael, a police officer in Kenner, La., were excited to learn they were expecting again after welcoming their daughter Amelie two years earlier, who was born at 35 weeks by cesarean section. But early into this pregnancy, Angelle was diagnosed with a cesarean scar ectopic pregnancy.

A rare and dangerous condition with high risks for the pregnant woman, a cesarean scar ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants in the scar tissue of a previous cesarean section rather than in the normal uterine lining.

This frightening news came when she was only six-and-a-half weeks along. “My doctors advised that the safest option would be termination,” Angelle said. “But once we saw the heartbeat, we both knew we couldn’t end it. We had to give him the best chance.”

With this decision made, the Romanos began a careful, week-by-week journey, guided closely by maternal-fetal medicine physician Tabitha Quebedeaux, MD, and Paul du Treil, MD, a gynecologist and obstetrician at Touro.

The team’s vigilance and open communication gave Angelle strength during a time of deep uncertainty. “Dr. Quebedeaux always gave me clear, honest information. I appreciated that so much. She let me text or call her anytime I had a question. She never sugar-coated things, but she also made me feel like I was making the right decisions.”

Complications and Courage

At 20 weeks, Angelle received another difficult diagnosis: placenta accreta, a serious pregnancy condition that occurs when the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall. This causes significant vaginal bleeding. Angelle was told that she would need a hysterectomy, a surgical procedure to remove the uterus, a few weeks after her baby was born.

And, the bad news kept coming. One month later, at 24 weeks, Angelle was hospitalized on full bed rest following major bleeding episodes. Her third major bleed occurred on the morning of November 1, 2024. At just 27 weeks and 5 days, doctors made the call to deliver her baby boy, Jude.

The delivery was complex, involving a team of more than a dozen physicians across multiple specialties, from gynecologic oncology to vascular surgery.

As Angelle recovered, baby Jude began his 77-day stay in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). Born extremely premature, he needed a ventilator initially but otherwise had a steady, uneventful course. His job was simply to grow.

She and Michael spent time with little Jude in the NICU waiting for her next surgery. Three weeks later, on November 26, Angelle returned to Touro for the hysterectomy. That surgery, performed by Dr. du Treil with a multidisciplinary team, went smoothly. But more complications followed, including a postpartum hemorrhage that led to emergency surgery and ICU care.

“I had several ER visits and two ICU stays,” said Angelle. “The ER staff saved my life after I hemorrhaged at home, and the ICU nurses were just incredible. I will always be so grateful—more than I can ever say. In fact, the NICU nurses became our family. We were there through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. They even arranged for our daughter Amelie to come meet Jude through the window.

An Army of Angels

Through every challenge, one constant stood out: the care and kindness of the entire Touro team.

“We did not have one bad experience with any staff member the entire time we were there,” Angelle said. “The nurses, housekeeping, dietary staff, and even the security guards at check-in made us feel so well taken care of. We spoke with and got to know so many people on a personal level.”

From receiving 15 units of blood to navigating holidays in a hospital room, the Romanos felt surrounded by a community that treated them like family. Angelle’s husband Michael, who never missed a day at the hospital, also managed the household and a toddler, while supporting both his wife and newborn son through every stage of care.

A Homecoming in the Snow

Jude was discharged on January 17, 2025, during a rare 12-inch snowfall in New Orleans. He came home without machines or monitors, meeting all his milestones at six months old.

“Amelie loves him so much. She cries when she’s separated from him,” Angelle said. “We’re just so happy and grateful. I hope Jude lives a healthy life with no setbacks from being a preemie. Right now, it looks like he will be OK. I cannot sing the praises enough for all the staff at Touro who took care of both of us. ‘Thankful’ doesn’t even cover it.”

For more information about Touro, please visit: https://www.lcmchealth.org/touro/

For more information about maternal fetal medicine services at Touro, visit: https://www.lcmchealth.org/touro/our-services/family-birthing-center/pregnancy/maternal-fetal-medicine/

For more information about Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Touro, please visit: https://www.lcmchealth.org/touro/our-services/womens-health/obstetrics-gynecology/ and https://www.lcmchealth.org/touro/our-services/family-birthing-center/nicu/