A baby born at just 23 weeks weighing less than a pound has celebrated his first birthday at home with his family.
Doctors told Amber it was unlikely she would be able to have children after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 19, so it came as a surprise to her when she discovered she was pregnant during a doctor’s appointment.
Unfortunately, partway through her pregnancy, Amber developed serious complications. She was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, which put her and her child at risk.
“Dr. McGill-Vargas said, ‘I’m going to be honest, although he’s 23 weeks, he’s measuring 21 weeks.’ That is how depleted my placenta was and not giving him what he needed”, said Amber. “She said, ‘I don’t know if we have a breathing tube small enough to fit’”.
“I was mentally prepared to lose him”.
Doctors gave baby Kane a 21-26% chance of survival
Before the cesarean section delivery, baby Kane’s parents, Chris and Amber, were told his survival odds were only 21-26%. When he was born, Kane weighed just 15oz and his first nappy had to be folded down specially to fit him. He spent about two months on breathing ventilators, and stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for six months, during which time he also fought pneumonia, an intestinal disease and a brain bleed.
“His lowest weight was 410 grams [14.5oz], because he lost some weight at first”, Amber said. “We couldn’t even touch him early because his skin was so fragile”.
During baby Kane’s stay in the NICU, Amber stayed by his bedside and took some respite to sleep at a nearby Ronald McDonald House. Her husband Chris visited for long weekends while working and caring for his older son Aiden.
“When he came out, they put him on a cart to get his tube in, and he was already trying to move his hands and trying to bat at them”, Chris said. “It felt like a long time, but it was probably minutes. I was laser-focused on them. So as they gave me the thumbs-up, that’s where I broke down”.
‘Tiny little chicken nugget’
At one year old, Kane has begun to speak, roll over and sit up by himself. He has a feeding tube and receives speech therapy, but is otherwise healthy.
“From 15 ounces to 15 pounds is basically what he did in a year”, said Amber. His nickname is “tiny little chicken nugget”.
“He’s got a clean bill of health; [he’s been] signed off by the cardiologist, by the pulmonologist, by neurology, by the eye doctor. Literally, it’s just a [feeding tube]. That’s it. That’s unheard of”.
Dr McGill-Vargas, one of the neonatologists providing care for Kane’s stay in hospital, said “He came into the world tiny but mighty. I think his story is so special because we have a mom who didn’t think she’d ever have an opportunity to get pregnant. Then she shows up unfortunately part way through her pregnancy with some real complications, and now this miracle pregnancy is really threatened”.
“Across the country, the odds are against him”, she went on. “Over 50% of babies that tiny don’t make it to hospital discharge and don’t make it home breathing on their own – smiling, laughing, interacting and just truly doing really well”.
Baby Kane has continued to defy the odds and celebrated his birthday with a party to which family members and some of the NICU staff were invited. His father expressed his gratitude for the medical staff who had helped the family.
“You show up with a bunch of questions”, he said. “They had answers or rebuttals for everything, just for peace of mind and for me to understand that they really know what they’re doing”.
Amber added “We’re just so grateful for the support at the hospital, from the staff, from Ronald Mcdonald house, from my work, from our friends. Without all that, we probably wouldn’t have had the best outcome”.
Dr McGill-Vargas also said “I can’t speak enough to the involvement of his parents. His mom was in that NICU every single day (except) the only day she missed was the day when she had gallbladder surgery herself”.
“They’re just amazing parents who fought for their baby”.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “Baby Kane’s story is particularly special as not only was he an unexpected surprise for his mother, he was able to go home against the odds with nearly a full bill of health”.
