Bengaluru: This baby, fondly called ‘Addu’ by his parents, is nothing less than a ‘miracle’ baby. Born just 26 weeks into the mother’s pregnancy and weighing a mere 762 grams, the tot survived all odds for three long months to finally be able to hold his parents’ hand.

Addu’s case was not like that of other pre-term babies because he experienced a series of complications while in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). He had chronic lung disease and his lungs were blocked due to which he was in constant need of the ventilator for a month. The critical nature of the case rose as the infant had three cardiac arrests in the incubator and had very low chances of survival.

“The cardiac arrests were due to the congestion and inability to breathe. Also, it was due to continuous oxygen radicals being supplied through the ventilator, there were chances of the baby’s tissues being damaged, causing harm to the eyes,” says Dr Prashanth URS, Director, new-born and pediatric services, Apollo Cradle, Koramangala who was overseeing the case. He added that the doctors at Apollo Cradle constantly monitored the organs of the baby to ensure the baby’s health was stable.

“Pre-term babies usually bleed inside the brain and this makes them prone to severe brain hemorrhage and mental and physical disabilities for life. The severity of the brain damage is graded in 4 levels. Luckily for Addu, there was no such complication. The child also had pneumonia but managed to cross this hurdle too,” says Dr Prashant. The chances of survival for this 26-week baby were very low as he faced multiple problems from the day he was born.

Every single day was a battle for both Addu and his parents. But neither of them gave up. “Addu fought through serious complications and his parents did not give up hope even once. Each day was a gamut of emotions for the family and the entire team of doctors and staff at our hospital,” shares the doctor.

According to Dr Prashanth, Addu is as healthy as any other normal 3-month-old child now and is not in need of the ventilator. The baby was discharged from the hospital on December 13. “Once the baby was discharged, he was still in need of oxygen for 3-4 weeks and we had trained the parents on how to take care of him, which they did. He is completely healthy now,” says a pleased Dr Prashanth.