A 24 week premature baby is finally home after spending 334 days in the NICU in Minnesota and his parents are testifying to the faithfulness of God.
God is so good and we see His hand clearly when medical science meets a dead end. When a baby comes into the world way too early it is terrifying for everyone involved.
The mother went into unexpected labor last October and delivered her son at just 24 weeks and five days. He weighed only 1 pound and 8 ounces which is barely anything. I can hardly imagine the fear those parents felt seeing their newborn fighting for his breaths in the hospital.
Doctors considered his survival a long shot because he needed to be intubated for months on end. While in the North Memorial Health neonatal intensive care unit he caught MRSA and pneumonia on separate occasions. It hurts my heart knowing how much this little boy endured.
“It’s hard to describe a long NICU journey like this. I really don’t know how I even survived,” his mother Jasmin Wellington said.
But the faithful family leaned heavily on the Lord during those dark hours. His father Junior Rancy-Quaye gave a beautiful testimony about trusting God. “It was God’s plan, because we didn’t have no control of anything. Just have faith, put your trust in God, that’s the only recipe that we’ve got.”
Nurse Katherine Martinson who cared for him admitted he was incredibly sick those first few days. She recalled “I remember going home and coming back and saying, ‘I hope and pray he’s still here.'”
Now after nearly a year he weighs more than 20 pounds. He still needs a little oxygen but his care team thinks he will outgrow it. Martinson said it is a massive deal he is going home without needing specialized surgeries. “It’s a miracle that he’s going home” she stated.
She wants everyone to believe in miracles because he truly is one. “I want people to believe in miracles, because he really is, he really is a miracle. I know other people have said that, but he truly is. Miracles do happen. Give babies a chance when they’re born that early; a lot of people don’t realize they can exceed expectations, even when they’re born that early.” Martinson said.
A baby at just 24 weeks is incredibly underdeveloped with tiny lungs that can barely take in air and organs that are nowhere near ready for the outside world. The medical charts will tell you the chances of survival are terrifyingly slim. Science looks at a one pound baby and says it is a long shot. But praise God we serve the Creator who knitted that child together in his mother’s womb! Just as the scripture declares there is absolutely nothing impossible for the Lord. The doctors saw a medical crisis but God saw a miracle in the making.
Whenever we find ourselves standing in front of massive mountains in our own lives our first reaction is usually pure fear. When those terrifying reports come or when everything falls apart our first reaction is usually pure fear. We look up at the towering obstacles and cry out asking how are we ever going to climb over this.
But brothers and sisters we do not need to figure out the how. We should not be looking at the size of the mountain at all because we just need to remember exactly WHO is standing right there in the valley with us. We have the Almighty God on our side!
If the Lord can breathe life into a one pound premature baby and carry him through pneumonia He can certainly carry you through whatever storm is raging in your life right now.
Let us continue to lift this family up. Please pray that this precious boy stays healthy and keeps growing stronger every day at home.
“For with God nothing will be impossible.” — Luke 1:37 (NKJV)
WATCH: 24-Week Premature Baby Goes Home After 334 Days in NICU
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