An estimated 15 million babies are born early every single year. That is 1 in every 10 babies.
Sadly, of that 15 million, 1 million preemie babies die each year. The odds for babies born before 25 weeks (of the normal 40-weeks gestation), the survival rate is around 50%.
Little Eliora Kimberlea was born at 21 weeks. She was the size of a soda can and only weighed 14 ounces.
When she was born at 19 weeks early on June 27, 2017, Ellie had a very long road ahead of her. Her parents, Robin and Joel thought they were going to lose their little girl.
Knowing that their little “warrior” still had ways to come, the family created a Facebook page to share how she was doing.
This page has been set up so that you can follow our precious miracle girl. She was born on 06/27/2017 at 21 weeks 6 days gestation, and much to everyone’s surprise has pulled through and is fighting like a champ. We will keep you up to date on her medical progress, as well as sharing some personal thoughts and insights.
Over the last five months, they’ve posted updates each week about their little girl. Ellie has proven to be defying odds!
The little girl had been born so early, her parents had to wait four months just to hear her cry for the first time. Doctors are calling her progress remarkable.
“The fact that she’s alive and has as few complications as she does is a miracle. There’s no other way around it. Whether or not you believe in God — it’s a miracle. She should not be here… and she needs to know that — that she has a special calling [in] her life.”
Just before Thanksgiving, the family shared this update on Ellie’s health:
Eliora is 21 weeks today, 3 weeks adjusted tomorrow.
In this season, we know there is so much to be grateful for. Ellie is 8lb7oz, and quite the little chubber! Her alert times are growing longer, and she is really rocking the feeding training. She is on 1/8th a liter on the pedia flow oxygen (the lowest is 1/32nd) and they are teasing us with the idea of a room air trial! We still face our struggles though. Unfortunately, her plus disease in her eyes has returned, and they are talking about potential surgery. This will be explored more in her next eye appointment.
Please SHARE this heartwarming story about strength with your friends and family on Facebook today.
The post continues to say how thankful they are for their little girl being a part of their family to this day.
We are thankful and blessed for our marriage, our two beautiful children, and all of you who have faithfully followed our journey. Keep us in your prayers as we spend Thanksgiving with our family and without our warrior princess. We are praying hard she will be with us for Christmas!
If you would like to contribute to the on-going medical care and costs for Ellie, you can donate to her GoFundMe today.
