Six-year-old Jacoby, who was once the sickest baby in the NICU, is nonverbal and is learning sign language. Jacoby loves to sign during Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s daily coronavirus press conferences. She likes to see the other interpreters on TV communicate like she does.
Jacoby was born with a life-threatening condition called hydrops fetalis. She was given a 5 percent chance to make it to a live birth, and if she lived, another 5 percent chance to survive. Altogether, she spent 16 months in the NICU and Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation before finally going home. Today, Jacoby is vibrant and thriving. Even though she is mostly nonverbal, she is learning new words every day and communicates using sign language.
— Submitted by Cleveland Clinic Children’s
