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'The little fighter': Baby born at 8 OUNCES defies odds
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Little Emilia Grabarczyk was born weighing only 8-ounces after a premature birth.
Highlights
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)
9/8/2016 (8 years ago)
Published in Marriage & Family
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Emilia's mother, Sabine Grabarczyk, was only 26-weeks along when it was discovered the placenta wasn't providing Emilia with enough nutrients.
At that age, Emilia should have weighed 21-ounces but her tiny body led doctors to suggest a C-section.
When she was born, Emilia weighed 8 ounces and was 8.6-inches-long.
She spent the first few weeks fighting for life at the Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, where Dr. Bahman Gharavi, the Head of the Children and Youth Clinic kept a close eye.
According to The Sun, Charavi explained: "Even children with a birth weight of 14 ounces rarely survive. We have to thank Emilia as well for her own survival. She is a little fighter."
Sabine Grabarczyk, Emilia's mother, described the difficulties she faced while watching her tiny daughter, whose foot was about the size of a fingernail, fought to survive.
"There were many difficult days," she said. "And many tears, but she clearly wanted to survive."
Emilia was fed with a tiny feeding tube and doctors dipped a cotton bud in sugar water to soothe the child and ease her pain.
When she reached 12-ounces, Emilia was put through an abdominal surgery, which she recovered from and continues to show promise.
Now nine-months-old, Emilia weighs 106-ounces and doctors report her physical conditioning continues to improve.
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