Miracle "micro-preemie" pulls through

LAKE COUNTY (FOX 35) - A Lake County couple will take their bundle of joy home after he was born extremely early.

Doctors don't often use the word "miracle," but Dr. Anoop Pulickal, a Pediatric Neonatologist at Florida Hospital for Children, used that exact word to describe baby Madden Kennedy Snowberger.

When mother Molly's water broke just 21 weeks into her pregnancy, doctors gave her baby impossible odds; he had a 1% chance of survival. Doctors even offered terminating the pregnancy as an option.

Molly said, "at one point we really thought, 'he's not going to make it.' They had it pretty much programmed in our minds. I don't think it was the doctors being malicious or anything-- people honestly thought he wasn't going to make it."

Little Madden came at 24 weeks, weighing in at only one pound, six ounces. He was what's called a "micro-preemie. Dr. Pulickal says with these extremely early babies, there are a lot of potential complications, including brain hemorrhages, infections, and feeding intolerance. 

Amazingly, baby Madden hasn't seen any of that. At four months old, he is now just under eight pounds. Dr. Pulickal says once Madden is adept at bottle feeding, he will go home with nothing more than a temporary oxygen tank.

Molly says, "he's living proof that you shouldn't give up. Ever."

Fox 35 Weather Authority