In a story that can only be described as miraculous, baby Nash Keen, once given a “zero” chance of survival, is now giggling through his very first birthday.
Born at just 21 weeks gestation, a jaw-dropping 133 days early, Nash weighed less than a can of soda. At just 10 ounces, he became the Guinness World Record holder for the world’s most premature surviving baby.
“I never lost hope for Nash,” said his mom, Mollie. “I want him to see his story as a source of strength.”
But strength runs deep in this Iowa family. After a miscarriage just six months prior, Mollie and Randall Keen were cautiously excited to learn they were expecting again in early 2024. At a routine 20-week scan, Mollie voiced concerns, and doctors found she was already two centimeters dilated.
What followed was a race against the clock. Doctors at the University of Iowa Health Care’s NICU told the couple that if they could make it to midnight on July 5, Nash might just have a chance. And he did.
Dr. Malinda Schaefer called it a “new frontier in maternal fetal medicine.” Despite impossible odds, Nash “came out very easily” and was just big enough for a breathing tube.
“We never want the parents to lose hope,” added Dr. Patrick McNamara, “but we have to be very honest… the chance is zero. But I hope I’m wrong.”
They were gloriously wrong.
After 189 days in the NICU, Nash went home. Now, his doctors hope that by kindergarten, no one will know he was ever born so early.
From Ankeny, Iowa, Nash is living proof: sometimes, miracles are just tiny babies with giant determination.
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