Edward Hospital’s tiniest preemie is now a senior at Plainfield Central

When Zoe Koz of Joliet was born by cesarean section on Jan. 6, 2004, at Edward Hospital in Naperville, she weighed 10.8 ounces.

At the time, Zoe was smallest surviving baby born at Edward Hospital, third-smallest baby born in the U.S and the ninth-smallest in the world, according to Keith Hartenberger, system director, public relations at Edward-Elmhurst Health.

Now 17 and a senior at Plainfield High School – Central Campus, Zoe is also studying veterinary technology at Wilco Area Career Center in Romeoville and working as a veterinary assistant in Plainfield. Zoe loves animals and hopes to be a veterinary technician in 10 years. She also wants to be a writer.

Zoe has a bulldog and a tabby cat named Mac, who has just three legs. Zoe’s had Mac since she was 7.

“I just fell in love with him and took him home,” Zoe said. “He has no idea his leg is missing.”

Tammy Koz, Zoe’s mother, said this is a “big year” for Zoe.

“She got her first job this year; actually, she’s on her second job,” Tammy said. “She worked at Red Lobster in March of this year and quickly realized she didn’t want to work in the restaurant industry. She has a passion for animals – both of my girls do – so she wanted to do something with animals when she left Red Lobster…she’s getting ready to get her license; she’s already gotten her permit. After high school, she plans to go to JJC. And then we’ll see where that takes her.”

‘I don’t think this baby is going to make it’

Because Tammy has lupus, Tammy was considered high risk and watched closely during her pregnancy with Zoe. But at 18 weeks, Zoe just stopped growing. So five weeks later, Tammy was admitted to the hospital and heard the words no parent ever wants to hear: “I don’t think this baby is going to make it.”

Tammy had miscarried her first pregancy; Zoe was her second. Tammy was given two choices: deliver the baby now or go home and “leave it in God’s hands,” she said.

“At that point, we went home,” Tammy said.

Tammy received steroids to hasten Zoe’s lung maturation and ultrasounds every other day “to make sure there was still a heartbeat,” Tammy said.

The ultrasound picked up a heartbeat every time, she said.

“Nobody could believe she was alive,” Tammy said.

Tammy said she was later diagnosed with a clotting disorder, which possibly contributed to the failure of Zoe’s placenta. Tammy had a normal pregnancy with Faith, who is five years younger than Zoe, Tammy said.

Zoe said she she’s “100% tough” and sometimes thinks, “nothing can stop me.” She believes in “never give up” and “keep fighting.”

Yet when doctors decided to deliver Zoe at 27 weeks, Zoe’s chance of living was just 5%, Tammy said.

Dark days - and a future

As first-time parents, Tammy said she and her husband Eric were overwhelmed at seeing Zoe in the neonatal intensive care unit, where it was “tubes and wires and machines” along with “babies who did not make it” during Zoe’s five-months stay in the NICU, Tammy said.

“Every little obstacle that came her way – she just fought right through it,” Tammy said of Zoe.

Dr. Bob Covert, medical director of Edward’s NICU, said in a 2015 story on the Edward-Elmhurst website that Zoe was “incredibly unique.”

“She was born at 27 weeks, but, because of her growth-restricting condition, she was smaller than a 23- or 24-week-old,” Covert said in the story, adding that feeding tubes, breathing tubes and IVs are not made for babies that size.

“In babies that small, with specialized conditions like Zoe, there are few survivors,” Covert said in that story, adding survivors typically have lifelong disabilities or illness.

Tammy said Zoe hit all her developmental milestones and “walked and talked on time.” Zoe was diagnosed with hearing loss at age 5 and now wears hearing aids, “cool” bluetooth hearing aids, Tammy said. Zoe also takes an inhaler, such as asthmatics use, to increase her lung capacity, Tammy said.

Zoe may also take steroids if she has cold, which she gets a couple times a year, Tammy said. Tammy did take extra precautions with Zoe last year due to the pandemic. Otherwise, Zoe is a normal, albeit small for her age, 17-year-old, Tammy said.

“She’s a strong girl,” Tammy said. “She does archery, fishing and camping, and she loves Marvel movies. She’s been through three surgeries in a year: two foot surgeries and she tore her ACL. Even though she’s tiny, she’s tough.”

In fact, Zoe’s sister Faith, born when Zoe was 5, is taller than Zoe.

“It kind of bothers me that she’s taller than me and physically stronger than I am,” Zoe said. “But I think she’s always going to be my little sister.”