Born at 24 weeks, baby Greyson weighed less than a pound and, after a staggering 490 days in hospital, he’s thriving and finally going home.
Baby Greyson was born 16 weeks before his due date and was given a 20 to 30% chance of survival.
“When he was born I was afraid to hold him. He was so small, he was one pound, two ounces, he was a micro preemie”, said his father Jeffrey Butler.
But Greyson was a little fighter from the beginning. Being born so early, he had to be treated in five hospitals and underwent15 blood transfusions, two surgeries and even pneumonia.
His Mum, Harper, recalled so much of the experience that she even wrote a book about it detailing all the emotions they went through as a family. “A lot of sleepless nights, a lot of tears, a lot of prayers, a lot of cries. Overall, a lot of smiles because my son is here now. He’s a miracle baby”.
Despite all his setbacks, Greyson continued to improve and while neurological development is often a concern for severely premature babies, hisdoctors confirmed that this doesn’t seem to be a problem for him.
“I come in the morning and I know he’s ok because I tickle him, he rolls around laughing and he throws a towel over his head”, Dr Dennis Davidson of Blythedale Children’s Hospital said.
After 490 days at the hospital, baby Greyson is heading home
Greyson now weighs 20 pounds and his discharge papers have been signed.
“He smiles, he’s like the face of all faces, you would never tell he had been through anything”, his Mum said.
“I think it’s a story of a miracle. He never stopped fighting. There’s a lot of situations I’ve been through that I wanted to just throw in the towel and I’m like if he could – he’s here every day, he never stops fighting – then what am I gonna stop fighting for?”, she added.
Outcomes for premature babies are continuing to improve. In 2022, John Wyatt, Professor of Ethics and Perinatology at University College London and Emeritus Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics, Ethics & Perinatology at University College London, presented evidence to parliamentarians from the UK and across the world “that there has been a steady improvement in the chances of survival of babies born at 22 and 23 weeks gestation since the Abortion Act was last amended [in 1990]”.
Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said “Babies frequently survive when they are born before or around the 24-week UK abortion limit. Baby Greyson is another one of these babies. While every abortion is a great tragedy, it is especially sad that the Abortion Act continues to permit abortion of babies who are able to survive outside the womb”.
