A 23-year-old mom from the U.K. is sharing the amazing story about how her “miracle” baby survived after being born at just 24 weeks.
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Lucy Flanagan, who is herself a nurse, said that she was “petrified” when she arrived at a hospital back in March with complications and was told, to her surprise, that she would need to immediately deliver.
“I was petrified. I wasn’t even 24 weeks pregnant, my baby couldn’t arrive today,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “I was praying the whole time that he would come out alive and trying to make an effort as I knew if not there would be no chance of survival for my precious son.”
She told the outlet that, once baby Eli — a biblical name she chose because she said she needed a miracle — came, the room was filled with people working on him; within minutes, he was in an incubator and was on his way to the NICU.
Flanagan only got to see the baby for a few seconds before he was taken away, but she held out hope that he would survive.
While Eli faced an uphill battle that included 128 days in the NICU, multiple infections, two surgeries and other complications with his breathing, the baby did indeed survive.
Eli was able to go home with his family in July, just weeks after his initial due date, with Flanagan speaking out in an effort to help other parents facing similar circumstances.
The mom also wrote an op-ed for the Telegraph last week, recounting her story in detail. Here’s some of what she wrote about her experience after the birth:
Shaun and I were terrified – but frozen. When my family arrived, about an hour after his birth, they were devastated. My Mum, Dad and sister all cried. None of us knew if he was going survive and every time we left his side there was the awful feeling that he might be gone when we returned.
The doctors told us our baby had a 30 per cent chance of surviving, adding that if he got an infection or his lungs collapsed it wouldn’t be a good sign. Both those things happened within 24 hours. We thought he wasn’t going to make it and that, if he did, he would be disabled. But we put on a brave face.
When our son was 27-hours-old, the doctors asked us to name him. We wondered if we were doing this just for the sake of it, or whether it would be his name for life. We needed a miracle so we went with something biblical: Eli.
A miracle is what the family got. Eli is nearly eight months old and 11 pounds now and is doing well. Read the entire story here.