A baby born at 25 weeks weighing 425 grams goes home after stay 460
Kendall Jurnakins is a baby who came into the world in December 2020 at 25 weeks gestation and weighing just 425 grams . When he was born he fit in the palm of one hand and his chances of survival were fifty percent.
But this little champion has fought with all his strength and after spending 460 days in the Intensive Care Unit of Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, he is finally going home.
They were very difficult months
His parents confess that they spent very distressing moments after the birth. “I was afraid my baby wouldn’t make it,” mom Sparkle Jurnakins tells Good Morning America.
The little boy suffered from respiratory distress syndrome and chronic lung disease, so they had to perform a tracheotomy and put him on a ventilator to improve his chances of survival.
To this was added that when the baby was eight months old, his mother became seriously ill with Covid-19 and spent three months in a coma. Upon meeting again, she feared her baby wouldn’t recognize her but she recognized her instantly, Sparkle says. Check out more at our Prince Blog.
The “Hospital Graduation”
After more than 15 months in hospital , little Kendall was finally discharged and the emotion of both the family and all the hospital staff was immense.
The day he left the hospital they made a corridor for him to say goodbye to applause and words of encouragement.
“This moment, actually, I have no words. It is a great reward for all of us, ” Dr. Taha Ben Saad, medical director of the NICU , told WTHR13 . “We have waited for this day for a long time and it is a great reward. And after all those long days and long nights, this is the best day for us. We forget everything else.”
Kendall eventually goes home to his parents, brother, and older sister, who are happy to have him with them.