HULL, United Kingdom, August 26, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – To call her “Little” Mollie Perrin would be an understatement.
After only six months' gestation, newborn Mollie weighed only about one pound. She was so small, her father James's wedding ring could easily slip on her entire arm.
Doctors told James and mother Stephanie that Mollie would probably not live more than three weeks.
She was diagnosed with Intrauterine Growth Restriction, a disorder of the placenta, which kept Mollie from getting nutrients in the womb.
“When they told us, we both just broke down,” James said. “There were so many questions we had to ask. It has been horrific.”
While pregnant, Stephanie had regular ultrasounds to make sure Mollie was still alive. She was born by emergency C-section, one of the smallest babies ever to have been born at Hull East Yorkshire Women and Children's Hospital.
“We knew she would be small, but it took my breath away when we saw her,” Stephanie said. “It was a shock. She was so tiny and with all the machines it was scary to see her like that.”
Because she was so frail, James and Stephanie decided to have Mollie christened in the hospital. “In her first week we had gone home and got a call at 5am to say she had taken a major turn for the worse,” Stephanie explained. “They didn't think she would last the day.”
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“It was horrendous. We thought we had lost her by the time we got to the hospital, but she picked herself up when we got there,” James said.
“And she has been strong ever since.”
James took a picture of Mollie 25 days after she was born, when he was first able to hold her.
Mollie turned out to be quite a fighter. Now 17 weeks old and a healthy weight of over five and a half pounds, Mollie is finally ready to come home.
James and Stephanie are overjoyed. “The joy and relief we feel is just amazing. We can't wait to be able to finally be a family. It's so incredibly special to be able to say we can take Mollie home,” the proud papa said.
Doctors now say Mollie will not only continue to survive, but catch up with children her own age, though she will probably remain a bit smaller.
“We are … a family now,” James concludes. “It just shows that … miracles do happen.”