A Gainesville, Georgia girl born prematurely with little hope at life has beaten her prognosis and gone on to thrive, with her parents grateful for the miracle of their little girl.
Graceanne Payne was given a 5% chance of survival, according to the Gainesville Times, and doctors told parents Melissa and Kevin Payne that even if she did survive, she would have minimal quality of life and be a drain on them.
“I believe that all babies are conceived for a reason,” said Melissa Payne. “It is our job to try to protect them and support what they need. Even when it’s difficult or very trying, what some could see as a burden to your family is still a gift from God.”
Payne fought for her daughter all along the way, and the extraordinary outcome has brought attention to the family’s experience.
“[Graceanne] just defied so many odds,” Payne said. “We’re very excited to get Graceanne out there and let everyone know her and know her story, and learn about the miracle that she is.”
Payne’s pregnancy with Graceanne was initially uneventful. Then Payne’s water broke before she was halfway along, while the family was traveling out of state.
Emergency room doctors told her she’d have to deliver Graceanne in the next 24-72 hours.
“At that point, we weren’t quite 19 weeks,” said Payne. “So she wouldn’t have been able to survive.”
Click “like” if you are PRO-LIFE!
Most health experts say 24 weeks is the earliest a child can be delivered with any chance of survival.
The Payne family saw a nearby specialist who in turn offered them no hope, giving Graceanne less than 5% chance of survival and telling her parents if she did live she would have a very low quality of life and be a burden on their family.
“(They) pretty much told me this was the hand of cards we were dealt, and we would have to fold them and start over,” Payne said.
Payne opted to return home and seek treatment with an OB willing to see her pregnancy through.
An ultrasound back home showed Graceanne’s heart was beating but doctors were still not optimistic.
“Every day I was on bed rest I would feel her kicking and moving, and at the same time I would go to the doctor and they’d just frown and nod,” said Payne. “I would do my best to stay very strong and try not to get upset.”
For the next seven weeks Kevin Payne brought the couple’s other daughter, Allie Claire, to visit in the evenings, and Payne looked to family, friends, visits from her church’s deacons and prayer for sustenance.
Graceanne was born via emergency C-section just after 26 weeks, weighing 1 pound, 12 pounces and measuring 12 inches. The biggest concern at the outset was her lungs not being developed enough to breathe on their own, and further, whether Graceanne was big enough to go on a ventilator.
“I woke up in recovery and asked where the baby was,” Payne said. “They said she was down in the NICU, and had enough lung tissue to ventilate.”
Graceanne continued to improve with time, having a scare at one point when she accidentally came off the ventilator, but going home one day after her original due date, after 6 weeks on oxygen and 97 days in neonatal intensive care.
Today she is 14 months old, weighs about 16 pounds, crawls and has taken her first steps.
Despite the doctors’ predictions that she would have special needs, Graceanne has attained every one of her age-adjusted milestones, the Gainesville Times reports.
Payne’s good friend Carolanne Owenby has walked with the Payne’s throughout Graceanne’s trials and triumph, and calls her, “the greatest miracle I’ve known in my life.”
“[Graceanne] was told over and over again that she had no business being here, that she wouldn’t be here, and she’s not only here but she’s thriving,” Owenby said. “A huge part of that is a testament to her mother. Melissa is one of the strongest people I know. She fought tirelessly for [Graceanne] and refused to take no for an answer at every corner. And that’s why she’s here and that’s why she’s thriving.”
Melissa Payne credited the Lord for her daughter’s life.
“Definitely the hand of God was involved in her survival,” she said.
“[Graceanne] has a purpose here, she was meant to be here,” said Payne. “And we’re very thankful that we gave her a chance.”