A baby born one week before the 24 week abortion limit and given a 1 per cent chance of survival by doctors has defied expectations and is now doing well at 9 months.
Kaci-Rose Cratchley weighed just over 1lb when she was born in January and had to spend more than two months on a ventilator.
But she has battled on, despite serious concerns for her health, and now weighs 8lbs 7oz.
Terrifying
On reaching the hospital, Kaci-Rose’s mum Sadie was warned that her baby was unlikely to be born alive.
“We were told there was a one per cent chance of her surviving labour. When they told me that I just cried and cried.
“The doctors asked us to decide whether we wanted them to try and save her or not.
“They told us that they could try but that she probably wasn’t going to make it. It was a terrifying moment but it wasn’t really a decision that needed to be made.”
Challenges
Kaci-Rose was born weighing just 1lb 2oz and measuring just 10.8 inches. She was immediately transferred to a neonatal unit and put on a ventilator, where she remained for 11 weeks.
She was given medication to help her struggling kidneys and has undergone laser eye surgery because the blood vessels in her eyes were not developing properly.
Sadie and her husband Marc were allowed to take their daughter home on 1 July.
Thrilled
Speaking recently, Sadie said: “So far she has proved everyone wrong. I’m very thrilled with how far she has come. It has been very bumpy and emotional and it is still hard.
“We take each day as it comes but at the moment we are just enjoying spending time with her and doing absolutely everything we can to make sure she has a normal life.”
As part of its Choose Life series, The Christian Institute shared the story of Hilary McDowell, a successful dramatist, writer and broadcaster.
She was given a life expectancy of just three weeks and doctors said she would never walk and possibly never speak. But today, although she has multiple disabilities, her success in many fields means she travels the globe for writing and speaking engagements.