Born at just 26 weeks gestation and weighing less than 1lb, Jarryd Grootboom was so tiny that his father’s wedding ring could fit around his upper arm.
Doctors warned his parents that he was not expected to survive. Despite this, Jarryd nevertheless overcame severe medical complications and seven months in hospital, and is now thriving at the age of 23.
Today, Jarryd is a success story: he has a job, his own car, and a passion for travelling.
“My parents told me what I went through, and I’m so thankful to have made it this far. I love my job and enjoy working. I’m also grateful to have my driving licence and my own car”, Jarryd reflected. “I love to travel too. I’m so grateful to be alive and have the opportunity to explore”, he continued.
Jarryd was born in October 2002, four months before his February 2003 due date.
His mother, Renee Grootboom, had developed life-threatening pre-eclampsia, a condition that can cause serious complications during pregnancy, and gave birth by emergency Caesarean section. Despite being told that Jarryd was unlikely to survive, Renee and her husband, Jeremy, remained determined to do everything possible for their son.
At the time, Jarryd became the smallest baby in South Africa to have survived.
“I didn’t realise at the time how much a baby was supposed to weigh or how small he was in comparison”, mum Renee recalled. “The first time I saw him, I couldn’t see much because his incubator was covered with plastic to mimic the conditions of the womb”.
A seven-month fight for survival
Renee was unable to see her baby boy again for two days after the emergency birth. When she insisted on visiting the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the sight of her extremely premature baby brought home the seriousness of his condition.
“When I saw him, he was so tiny I could hardly believe my eyes”, she remembered. “The doctors told us we had a long road ahead, but the positivity of the hospital staff gave us hope”.
That road included a severe lung condition, bone fractures, collapsed organs and a lack of nutrients. Jarryd also required multiple blood transfusions during the seven months he spent in hospital.
“He was born with only 36ml of blood in his body – just six teaspoons – and daily blood draws made transfusions critical”, Renee explained.
The situation became even more serious when his body began rejecting the transfusions.
“When his body started rejecting them, we truly thought it was the end. The doctors had predicted he wouldn’t survive”.
Despite the repeated setbacks, Jarryd continued to fight.
“His hands and feet were tiny”
Jeremy and Renee were unable to hold their son until he was one month old.
“It was surreal because he was so small. His hands and feet were tiny, but they kept moving against my skin as I held him”, she recounted. “His dad was amazing with him because I was always afraid I might drop him … he was that small”.
After seven months of treatment, Jarryd was finally well enough to leave hospital with his parents. He still needed an oxygen machine when he first arrived home, but two months later he was able to breathe without it.
Two decades later
More than two decades later, Jarryd has continued to surpass the expectations placed upon him as an extremely premature newborn. He has a photographic memory, a job he loves, and he recently passed his driving test, allowing him to drive his own car to work each day.
“Look at him now”, Renee remarked. “He showed such a fighting spirit back then, and today he’s still feisty, with an attitude to match, but such a soft gentleman”.
For his parents, the ordinary milestones of adult life carry particular significance after the uncertainty of Jarryd’s earliest months.
“Seeing him today, doing all the things we never thought he would, is extraordinary. We are extremely proud of him”, Renee reflected. “No words can describe what he went through, but he has grown so much mentally and emotionally. Since he started working, he understands the world better, and his horizons have broadened”.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, commented: “Jarryd’s remarkable story is a powerful reminder of the strength that all premature babies have within them. Doctors warned his parents that he would not survive, yet 23 years later, he is working, driving, and enjoying the opportunity to travel”.
“His life also demonstrates why no baby should ever be regarded as less worthy of care and protection simply because of the length of their life, both within the womb and without. Every child deserves the chance to live and to confound the expectations placed upon them”.
