My mother had five children, and we were all born premature. I was born two months premature and weighed 3 lbs. My brother was a few weeks premature and weighed 2 lbs. 11 oz. I was born in 1970. He was born in 1960.
I was VERY ill and my prognosis was not very good. My lungs had not completed being formed. I needed life-sustaining oxygen for weeks. Both the pediatrician and the lung specialist gave up on me many times over. Luckily there was always, "ONE MORE CHANCE". I spent many, many weeks in an incubator.
All of us left the hospital when we weighed five pounds. We were ALL given a chance to grow and mature in the hospital.
There was NO long-term prognosis for my brother, because he was born with only one kidney and it was malformed. The plastic surgeons repaired it so that his kidney could drain properly. He is now 45, and his life is a miracle.
Under these standards advocating infanticide, none of us would be here.
I argue these very life-saving measures force the medical community to give it their all, and continuously come up with new techniques that help man-kind, NOT just the smallest among us. These types of research and practical hands-on attempts are invaluable. Everyone, no matter how small, deserves a chance.
Now I'm a married mother with an above average IQ. I'm so glad I was given a chance.
It is always inspiring to see that some have overcome the hardship of being a preemie. I am so glad that your family has a legacy of being fighters for your own lives. And YES GIVE THE KID A CHANCE!! That should be the motto of all of the hospitals rather than JUST KILL EM, BECAUSE THERE ISNT ANY HOPE!
I have heard too many stories just like yours that say that doctors should err on the side of life rather than death and have courage over cowardice. So glad you and your siblings made it!!!
God bless,]
PHIL MAGNAN