{"id":837947,"date":"2026-09-06T01:46:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T01:46:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/837947\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T01:46:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T01:46:32","slug":"baby-graduates-from-unc-childrens-hospital-nicu-after-months-long-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/837947\/","title":{"rendered":"Baby ‘graduates’ from UNC Children’s Hospital NICU after months-long journey"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHAPELL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) — After spending months in neonatal intensive care units in Charlotte and Chapel Hill, baby Janouri celebrated a milestone Thursday that her family once hoped would come: heading home.<\/p>\n

Janouri was born prematurely in Charlotte in January with an underdeveloped airway, requiring a tracheostomy and specialized airway care shortly after birth.<\/p>\n

After months of treatment, she transferred to N.C. Children’s Hospital at UNC in June, where she continued receiving care from a team of specialists.<\/p>\n

On July 16, Janouri underwent surgery, a key step in her recovery and preparation for discharge.<\/p>\n

Janouri Graduates<\/p>\n

Her journey culminated with a joyful NICU “graduation” celebration on Thursday. Nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists and other caregivers joined Janouri’s family to mark the occasion.<\/p>\n

\"Baby<\/p>\n

Baby Janouri eating a cupcake.<\/p>\n

UNC Children’s Hospital<\/p>\n

The team sang songs, shared cupcakes and made sure Janouri was dressed for the moment in a pink graduation cap.<\/p>\n

Grateful Mom<\/p>\n

For Janouri’s mother, Janelle Williams, the day brought gratitude and relief after months of uncertainty. Williams said she and her family felt supported from the moment they arrived at UNC Children’s Hospital.<\/p>\n

“The UNC NICU team was caring and great and very welcoming,” Williams said.<\/p>\n

\"Baby<\/p>\n

Baby Janouri and her family.<\/p>\n

UNC Children’s Hospital<\/p>\n

While celebrating her daughter’s progress, Williams reflected on how the experience changed her perspective.<\/p>\n

“It was very humbling to see a different side of the world and realize the struggles of so many other children,” she said.<\/p>\n

Many of the caregivers who helped guide Janouri through her hospitalization were there to celebrate her discharge, along with her father, who joined the sendoff festivities.<\/p>\n

Now, after months of specialized care, Janouri is headed home to Wake Forest, surrounded by the love of her family and gratitude for the medical teams that helped her reach this milestone.<\/p>\n

\"UNC<\/p>\n

UNC NICU Team.<\/p>\n

UNC Children’s Hospital<\/p>\n

Download the ABC11 News app for breaking news and weather<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2026 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHAPELL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) — After spending months in neonatal intensive care units in Charlotte and Chapel Hill,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":837948,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[354709,97,252,253],"class_list":["post-837947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-354709","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=837947"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/837947\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/837948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=837947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=837947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=837947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}