A baby born weighing just 1lb 5oz and the size of a syringe has survived, despite doctors telling his parents he would die on five separate occasions.
Hanna Rose, 25, from Worksop, Nottinghamshire, gave birth to her ‘little warrior’ named George three months prematurely in July last year.
Since, the little guy who was born with translucent skin – so fragile his parents couldn’t touch him – has survived sepsis and meningitis, as well as 20 blood transfusions, despite doctors’ predictions for his poor health.
Hanna and George’s dad Daniel Bownes, 27, were told their child would likely die after all he’d been through in his little life.
So much so, he was put on life support within six minutes of his birth. George had been suffering from necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a condition in newborns in which part of the bowel dies.
He was sent almost immediately to surgery to treat the NEC but during the procedure George lost 40 per cent of his blood and suffered a swollen liver.
He then contracted meningitis and sepsis because of issues linked to his premature birth. Doctors told his distressed parents they’d never seen a newborn with an infection so severe survive.
Hannah recalled:
It was 4am and me and Daniel was took into the room were they explained George was not going to make it , he had lost to much blood and his body had gone into septic shock and was beginning to shut down. [sic]
It didn’t seem real or fair this was happening, the week before he was inside me perfect and safe!
I told the doctor I wanted to get George’s birth registered whilst he was still here. I wanted it to be a happy memory but she strongly advised me not to leave his side because he just had hours.
But, George is now seven-months-old and has seen such a vast improvement in his health, he’s been allowed to go home from hospital and live with his parents.
Now home safe and sound, George weighs 6lb 2oz, but still needs an Oxygen tank to help him breathe.
The little tyke still faces a seventh surgery for his heart and his parents have been raising money for physiotherapy on GoFundMe, which at the time of writing, has raised £4,220 of its £10,000 goal.
Hannah wrote:
George has proved everyone wrong and gone against everything the professionals know and I believe he is going to carry on doing that.
I believe with the right help George will thrive, but early intervention is key.
Best of luck to little George and the whole family. What a trooper.
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A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.