MIRACLE STORY OF A PREMATURE

[Anchor Lead]

Next we have a story of a miracle that happened to a prematurely born baby. It weighed just 288g at birth and its survival chances were less than one percent. But against all odds, the baby was able to return to its family thanks to advanced medical technologies, the dedication of medical personnel and the ardent prayers of its family.

[Pkg]

​Less than 300 grams at birth, only 23.5 centimeters tall... Keon-woo, born in April this year, was regarded an extreme micro preemie, a premature baby. He was born through an emergency C-section at just 24 weeks and six days because his growth in the womb was delayed. At the time of his birth, the baby could hardly breathe on his own. When he got the stomach flu, doctors had to insert into his veins a tube as thin as a hair strand. To run blood tests, only five drops of the baby’s blood were extracted. With less than 23 milliliters of blood in his entire body, Keon-woo could have easily developed anaemia if more blood was extracted. At one point, the baby’s heart stopped beating. He was given CPR and survived.

[Soundbite] Prof. Kim Ae-rhan(Seoul Asan Medical Center) : "Babies that are born prematurely and underweight because of delayed growth in the womb should be monitored at least until they turn three."

Keon-woo’s mother pumped her breast milk even in a moving car to make sure her baby-boy was fed properly. She traveled 700km every week from Haman to Seoul.

[Soundbite] (Keon-woo’s mother) : "I kept pumping my breast milk thinking it would help my son grow. I traveled back and forth hoping my breast milk would be like medicine for him."

Thanks to the dedication of medical personnel and the ardent devotion of his loved ones, baby Keon-woo was taken off the ventilator when he turned 80 days old. When he was about four months old, he was finally out of the incubator. And just last month, his weight surpassed 2kg. Keon-woo is the tiniest among the surviving extreme preemies reported so far in Korea and the 32nd in the world. The boy has finished 153 days of treatment at the Seoul Asan Medical Center and was finally taken home.