A premature baby born at just 23 weeks and weighing just 1.5lb (680g) has defied all odds and is now thriving at home with his mother and father.
Doctors told Logan Ray’s parents to prepare for the worst when he was born at just 12 inches long – the same length as a Superman action figure his father, Rob, bought for him.
But just like his new sidekick, little Logan wasn’t giving up with a fight.
Following a number of treatments and “touch and go moments”, not uncommon in premature babies, Logan grew stronger and taller every week.
Eventually, he dwarfed his superhero toy and after 105 days in hospital he was able to go home with his family.
‘Incredible’
His mother, Val, was 21 weeks pregnant with Logan when she went to see her doctor after feeling something was wrong.
An ultrasound revealed Val had a medical condition which caused her cervix to open prematurely – something which often causes women to miscarry.
Unfortunately, surgery to repair her cervix with a stitch was unsuccessful and the expectant parents were told to prepare for the worst.
Recalling the bad news, Val told The Sun said: “The doctors basically told Rob and I that they were going to send us home to miscarry.
“Both Rob and I looked at the doctor and said ‘we’re not going anywhere, whether we have him tomorrow or have him four months from now, we’re staying in the hospital’.
“They put me on bedrest in the hospital after that, where my head had to be lower than my feet at all times.
“I wasn’t allowed to get up at all and I was like that for 20 days.”
Proud husband Rob added: “She’s downplaying this, by the way!
“She laid upside down basically with her head lower than her feet for 20 days without getting out of the bed to do anything.
“To be honest, she’s incredible.
“I didn’t realise how strong my wife was until I saw her lie in that bed like that upside down all those days.
“She didn’t complain at all – she just laid there like ‘I’ll stay here for months if I need to’.”
Val’s waters eventually broke after 20 days in hospital. After 32 hours of labour, she finally gave birth to Logan on 25 July 2016.
After a brief moment with his mother, Logan was rushed to the NICU ward where his father watched on as he was quickly ventilated.
Little Logan had two brain bleeds and two holes in his heart, as well as an inguinal hernia and urinary tract infection.
“It was touch and go for the brave boy,” Rob said.
“There was a real fear of losing him at that point. We really thought he didn’t have much chance of pulling through.”
Val added: “We had a couple of times like that, that’s for sure.”
After medication cured his UTI, Logan underwent laser eye surgery at 11 weeks old to fix his issues with his sight.
Against the odds, Logan pulled through every surgery and test sent his way, and after 105 long days in hospital, he was discharged to celebrate his first Christmas at home.
Now aged-four, Logan is a healthy and happy little boy with no health problems and still has his Superman action figure with him to celebrate every birthday together.
‘Superhero’
Val said: “He is a little superhero himself. Even when he was just a pound and a half in weight I called him my little ‘tough guy’.
“We take a picture every birthday where Logan holds his Superman and it’s amazing seeing the size difference now.
“We keep Superman up on a shelf because we want to keep it in one piece but Logan does hold it when we take it out for photos for his birthday.
“He looks at it and we tell him that’s how big he used to be but I don’t know if he quite gets that concept yet!”
Rob said: “He’s just an incredible little boy. A lot of these babies born at 23 weeks have tons of health problems but Logan just didn’t, thank god.
“He’s a smart little kid, my little boy, he really is.”
