Meet Cooper Christopher Steinhauser

Cooper Christopher Steinhauser was born on Saturday, February 19, 2022 in Denver, Colorado, to parents Edward and Haley. At just 25.5 weeks, gestational, Cooper decided he didn’t want to wait four more months to meet his family, so he came in the middle of snow season in Colorado while his mom was on a 24-hour business trip. At 8:46 AM MST, he came into this world, measuring 1 pound, 15 ounces and 14 inches long. From the moment he was born, he was a fighter.

His parents learned early on that Cooper had a plan and he was determined to execute that plan at every opportunity he had. He self-extubated (removed his breathing tube) three times, he would make his vital numbers improve faster than the doctors wanted, and when he knew a nurse was going to leave his room because “it looks like he’s doing great,” Cooper would do anything he could to get an alarm to go off just to get a little more attention.

Cooper was loved by everyone he encountered, and his world became the community of the hospital. From the doctors and nurses to the medical students, specialists and support staff, everyone loved little Cooper and would do anything for him. He didn’t know how to talk but he communicated with his world in ways that were special and all “Cooper.” When it was hard to open his eyes, he would move his eyebrows to communicate his satisfaction and intrigue. He couldn’t move his head often, but he would track your every move with his eyes. He loved to hold a Q-Tip with breast milk on it like a lollipop during oral care and his favorite activity was to cuddle with mom and dad during skin-to-skin time.

Cooper’s joy was felt across the NICU at both hospitals (Denver Health & Children’s Hospital of Colorado), including his team going above and beyond so that he could be outside for the first time and meet his dog brother, Quincy. He even made friends with other babies on the floor, sending them positive messages of encouragement.

It was Cooper’s resilience in the face of adversity that motivated everyone to do everything they could to help him. From the beginning, the doctors and nurses would tell his parents that the NICU is a roller coaster with good days and bad days. Often, it could feel like you would take one step forward and three steps back. On those bad days, Edward would call them side steps because he knew they just needed to figure out a new way to move forward. Throughout it all, Cooper remained his adorable, loving self.

When a baby is that young and small, blood work is critical to monitor the patient’s homeostasis. To do that, they must prick the heal of the baby and they would do this every time they needed to check his breathing settings, electrolytes, infection precaution, and more. This would happen multiple times a day and Cooper never cried. He would hold his parents finger or just look at them or his nurse because he knew that it was what they had to do.

In fact, in the beginning, Cooper was so brave and strong that the team couldn’t use his vitals to determine if he was in pain or distress which was partly what led to the first of his three surgeries to address a perforated bowel. No matter the pain, the challenge, or the illness, as long as Cooper was with his mom and dad, he was happy and nothing else mattered.

Cooper’s injuries and illness progressed, and it became harder for Cooper to fight through the adversity. Nonetheless, he did everything he could to smile, talk to his parents with his eyes, and cherish every cuddle. He is the strongest person that his family has ever met, and he continually showed everyone around him how powerful perseverance and resilience can be, especially when you have those you love around you to draw strength from.

After about two months, Edward and Haley learned that due to a systemic infection along with brain swelling that they were monitoring, Cooper had severe brain damage and, at best, would not be able to regulate his body systems on his own. This news was devastating, but his parents knew they didn’t want Cooper to suffer. They shifted to palliative care to give them more time to be together as a family and surround Cooper with the love he had shown them.

On Wednesday, May 11, 2022, Cooper passed away peacefully, in the arms of his parents and surrounded by his family. He taught his family so much about what is important in this life, how powerful love and compassion for others can be, and his impact on this world will continue through his parents, family and the Cooper Steinhauser Foundation.