The family of the premature baby, who weighed just 1 pound 5 ounces at birth, celebrated the baby’s first birthday on January 10. After a little boy spent his 155 stays in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), ignoring all odds.
“He was under a pound and a half and was 23 weeks and 2 days,” Samantha Smith, a neonatal nurse at Pediatrics Neonatology in Texas and Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, told Fox News Digital.
“So he was at the limit of his viability, about 22 weeks.
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Smith said Amandy Omokore-Allen’s chance of survival is less than 10% given his age and size.
Parents Tollope Omokore and Patrick Allen were expecting twin boys last May.
Parents Trollope Omokore and Patrick Allen celebrate their son Amandy Omokore Allen’s first birthday.
(Troop toy)
But at 22.5 weeks in January 2022, Omokore experienced spotting and then received the heartbreaking news that one of her babies died in utero, she said.
Omokore learned that she had experienced a complication called premature rupture of the amniotic sac.
“There were a lot of emotions,” Omokore told Fox News Digital. I wanted
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In addition to the difference between “23 weeks old” and “24 weeks old,” Omokore said, doctors see differences in a baby’s development from week to week.
Amandy Omokore Allen was born last January weighing 1 lb 5 oz.
(Troop toy)
“In my heart, I say to Amandi, ‘Please be there,'” Omokore said of her unborn son.
Doctors tried to delay Omokore’s delivery with medication, but a week later, at just 23 weeks, Amandi was born.
He weighed 1 pound 5 ounces.
“I’m thinking, I just lost one – am I going to lose them both?”
Omokore also gave birth to and was able to hold her son, Asaya, who had died in her womb a week earlier.
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“It was a very bittersweet moment,” Omokore said.
“I was able to catch Asaiah, but they took Amandhi directly from me to the incubator because, of course, every second counts. And I’m thinking. I I just lost one — am I going to lose both?”
Amandy Omokore Allen spent the first 155 days of her life in the NICU.
(Troop toy)
Amandi was placed under the care of Smith and her Pediatrics team.
He was initially on a ventilator, had a collapsed lung and needed a chest tube, Smith told Fox News Digital.
Samantha Smith, a neonatal nurse at Pediatrics Neonatology and Ascension Seton Medical Center in Texas, took care of baby Amandi, who was born on January 10, 2022.
(Texas Pediatric Neonatology and Ascension Seton Medical Center)
“He was relatively stable for a baby of his age and size,” Smith said.
“But they use the word ‘very stable’ because they are so premature. He’s quite a survivor.”
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Amandi also had a feeding intolerance that required continuous gavage. He also developed pneumonia at about six weeks and had a pulmonary hemorrhage.
Amandy Omokore Allen is pictured next to her mother, Trurope, at Pediatric Neonatology and Ascension Seton Medical Center in Texas.
(Troop toy)
Such complications are not uncommon in babies the size of Amandi and babies born in those pregnancies.
Two weeks later, Omokore was able to hold her newborn son for the first time.
Tolulope Omokore told Fox News Digital that she had done all she could about her son’s condition and how best to care for him.
(Troop toy)
“It was amazing,” said Omokore.
“But he was intubated so it was nerve-wracking at times. They were very careful, and he loved it.”
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Despite the expected setbacks, Amandi got a little stronger each day.
Amandi, left, wears a hat and gown signifying her “graduation” from the NICU, where she stayed for 155 days on January 10, 2022. Amandi on the right was born at the young age of 23. week.
(Troop toy)
Smith said Omokore’s eagerness to be a part of his son’s journey and to learn as much as he can as he progresses is key to his ability to grow.
“She asked questions and spoke with all the doctors,” Smith said. “She took us [our] first name and we knew her [hers]She was part of his care at his bedside. ”
Born on January 10, 2022 at 23 weeks, Amandi’s survival rate was less than 10%.
Omokore said she took notes every day and learned everything she could about Amandi’s condition.
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As Amandi continued to improve, Omokore was able to return to work as a sales representative for Austin-based Oracle.
She said the company stands by her situation.
Amandi bites into her birthday cake a few months after being discharged from the NICU.
(PC Pro Photography LLC.)
“I worked at home from eight to five,” said Omokore. “But I would go see him as soon as I finished work, or sometimes leave early to answer customer calls. [hospital] lobby. “
After spending more than five months in the NICU, on June 14th, Amandi completed all the milestones to “graduate”.
“He’s quite the survivor.”
Staff lined the corridors to cheer Amandi and his parents as they prepared to go home.
“Everyone was clapping and crying,” said Omokore.
“I was hugging everyone. And I was thinking about Asaya.”
Amandy and his parents then moved to Maryland. Baby currently weighs 20 pounds 15 ounces.
(Troop toy)
The family then moved to Severn, Maryland, where 1-year-old Amandi weighs 20 pounds 15 ounces.
He’s crawling backwards now, said Omokore.
“His weight is in the 43rd percentile,” said Omokore. “The pulmonologist was showing me his chart — come to think of it, he started at that his 1-pound mark.”
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As for Smith, she said she remembers the fragile first two weeks of Amandi’s life.
Amandi poses to mark her first birthday on January 10, 2023.
(PC Pro Photography LLC.)
“He always had his eyes open,” Smith said of Amandy as a little patient.
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“He always had a bright spirit. He fought. He definitely fought,” she said.
“And it was really something to see,” she added.
