“On Tuesday, a micro-preemie celebrated his first birthday, defying doctors’ belief that he would not survive after being born so prematurely. Jari Lopez was born at 24 weeks of gestation on Feb. 22, 2021, and weighed about 11.5 ounces. Doctors told Jari’s parents that he only had a 30 percent chance of survival due to fetal growth restrictions and his mother’s preeclampsia diagnosis. Jari’s mother, Amber Higgins, told Fox News Digital that at her 20-week ultrasound appointment, she learned that her baby boy was exceptionally small. This led to Higgins being admitted into Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she was monitored daily. ‘His heart rate was dropping, so they decided to do an emergency C-section. Jari’s biggest issue when he was first born was his lungs,’ Dr. Jennifer Anderson, who helped treat Jari, told Fox News Digital. ‘The lungs aren’t totally developed when born at 24 weeks. When he was first born at only 325 grams, and we knew at that point he was the smallest baby taken care of in our NICU, we knew it was going to be a very, very bumpy road taking care of him.’ Higgins was finally able to hold her son when he was a month old and was released from Pediatrix on June 29, 2021. Doctors also gave Jari and his family a ceremonial send-off. Nowadays, Higgins says that her son is active and ‘very, very feisty.’”
“Micro-Preemie,” Christian Headlines, Feb. 23, 2022