Our Stories

 Andrew Goldberg

Andrew was born at 38 weeks gestation via emergency C-Section at North Shore Manhasset in 2000 weighing 5 1/2 pounds. Despite the circumstances surrounding his delivery, he was admitted directly to the “well baby” nursery. Three days after birth, however, at approximately 1:30 AM, Andrew stopped breathing while he was being fed in the nursery. He was immediately rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

Several hours later, after he was stabilized, Andrew was taken for a CT scan which showed that he had suffered a stroke, bilaterally to the occipital lobes. Additionally, a check of his glucose level (blood sugar) revealed that he was severely hypoglycemic (the opposite of diabetic).

Andrew wound up being in the NICU for 30 days, and while there, suffered from seizures, an infection in his eyes that later spread throughout his body, and he remained hypoglycemic for three weeks.

In the last 7 days of his stay in the NICU, his blood sugar began to stabilize and rose to a more suitable level. When he was finally released, his blood had to be checked with a glucometer several times a day to ensure that his blood sugar was within a safe range.

Due to the initial stroke, Andrew began receiving physical therapy at just a few months of age. He continued to get several hours of physical, occupational, and speech therapy each week, initially through Nassau County’s Early Intervention Program, and then both privately and in public school.

Today, Andrew attends a liberal arts university in Florida and continues to receive educational support in a general education setting. He is studying communications and sports management. Here is a short film he made about his story and the Tender Loving Care Foundation