To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Tiny Miracles
Baby Amillia started life in the record books.
That's a little baby. Here's a more recent photo: 
Keep in mind, she's still tiny, weighing in at just over 4 pounds. (For comparison, babies born under 5 pounds are considered "low birth weight", and Amillia is almost 4 months old. But, then again, if I'm doing the math right, she's still 3 weeks out from her fully baked date.) She'll be on monitors and oxygen for a while, but her prognosis is good.
Decades ago, babies who were born very early had little chance of making it without serious health problems, if they lived at all. By the late 1970s, it was more common, but not routine, for 30+ week babies to have a fighting chance. As each year passes, medical technology, quick, creative thinking by doctors and Divine Intervention help smaller and smaller babies to thrive. (Here's a story about a little boy and how the Little Blue Pill may have helped him.) Where will ingenuity take us next?
Congradulations to the Taylor family, and best of luck in the future. I wonder if they realize that if she's this stubborn this young, then they're in trouble when she hits the teens.
A premature baby that doctors say spent less time in the womb than any other surviving infant is to be released from a Florida hospital Tuesday.Here's a picture of Amillia a couple of days after she was born (notice the ball point pen next to her for scale):
Amillia Sonja Taylor was just 9 1/2 inches long and weighed less than 10 ounces when she was born Oct. 24. She was delivered 21 weeks and six days after conception. Full-term births come after 37 to 40 weeks.
"We weren't too optimistic," Dr. William Smalling said Monday. "But she proved us all wrong."
Neonatologists who cared for Amillia say she is the first baby known to survive after a gestation period of fewer than 23 weeks. A database run by the University of Iowa's Department of Pediatrics lists seven babies born at 23 weeks between 1994 and 2003.
Amillia has experienced respiratory problems, a very mild brain hemorrhage and some digestive problems, but none of the health concerns are expected to pose long-term problems, her doctors said.
Decades ago, babies who were born very early had little chance of making it without serious health problems, if they lived at all. By the late 1970s, it was more common, but not routine, for 30+ week babies to have a fighting chance. As each year passes, medical technology, quick, creative thinking by doctors and Divine Intervention help smaller and smaller babies to thrive. (Here's a story about a little boy and how the Little Blue Pill may have helped him.) Where will ingenuity take us next?
Congradulations to the Taylor family, and best of luck in the future. I wonder if they realize that if she's this stubborn this young, then they're in trouble when she hits the teens.
