Valley Mothers Who Formed a Friendship During Babies NyICU Stay Now Celebrating Children's Progress Nearly Three Years Later

November is Prematurity Awareness Month

PHOENIX, Ariz. (Nov. 17, 2025) – Just in time for Prematurity Awareness Month, two Valley mothers are reflecting on the close friendship they forged while their babies were in the NyICU at Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center and on the remarkable progress their once-fragile babies have made nearly three years later.

It was December 20, 2022 when Sabrina Hishmeh, now 34, experienced what she thought were Braxton-Hicks contractions, or false labor. Only 24 weeks into her pregnancy, Hishmeh called her doctor, who advised her to come into the office. Sensing that something more serious was happening, Hishmeh instead had her husband drive her to a Valley hospital. 

By the time Hishmeh arrived, nurses told Hishmeh she was seven centimeters dilated, already in labor, and that the baby had about a 60 percent chance of survival. The baby, a little girl named Olive, was born just minutes later and intubated immediately. Olive was then transferred to the NyICU at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, where she stayed under the gentle and expert care of the nursing staff.

It was there that Hishmeh was joined by Porsha Barge, a woman who gave birth at just 22 weeks. Barge had experienced a placental abruption, which occurs when the placenta detaches from the uterine wall. She gave birth on December 26 to a baby boy named Jaylen who, like Olive, needed expert medical care in St. Joseph’s NyICU. 

Over the next several months, Hishmeh and Barge got to know each other in the NyICU and a genuine friendship formed. The two leaned on one another, and shared in the joy of witnessing each baby reach a new milestone.

That support played a crucial role in lifting both Hishmeh and Barge’s spirits. Five months later, about one day apart, both babies were cleared to go home. Since leaving the NyICU, Hishmeh and Barge have remained close, not only with each other but with the nurses who cared for their children. 

“You have to trust these people with your child and you don’t know them very well. But they completely earned my trust,” Hishmeh shares. “They got to know Olive’s likes, her dislikes, how she likes to sleep, how she likes to be held. It was great to know she was in such great care.”

 For Barge, it’s a similar feeling of appreciation: “I’ve been to three different NyICUs. None of them are like St. Joseph’s. The nurses there have tenure and you can tell it makes a difference.” In fact, Barge and Hishmeh grew so close with the nursing staff that they have even invited them to important events such as the babies’ birthdays and baptisms in the years since.

“Our nurses pride themselves on caring for each baby as if they were their own,” says Andrea Hassler, the Nursing Director at St. Joseph’s. “It’s truly touching to see that daily dedication pays off for families in such a meaningful way.”

These days, Jaylen and Olive are friends as well, and get to have a playdate whenever their moms have a chance to meet up. Both are about to turn three years old next month and are living happy, healthy lives with few complications.

“We were a great support to each other,” Hishmeh says. “It’s wonderful to know that our empathy for one another led to a lifelong friendship.”

“Nobody else really relates to this kind of experience unless they’ve gone through it, too. To have someone there for the ups and downs, it created a strong bond between us that we’ll always be grateful for,” Barge adds.

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