Doctors expected baby Iris to live just 2 to 7 days. Her parents took their tiny newborn home on hospice believing every moment together could be their last.
Doctors expected baby Iris to live just 2 to 7 days. Her parents took their tiny newborn home on hospice believing every moment together could be their last.
Today, Iris is 34 days old.
And after twice being told there was nothing more doctors could do, her parents have brought their 3-pound little girl back to Birmingham, Alabama with a message of their own: as long as Iris keeps fighting, they are going to fight for her.
Her dad, Tony, reached out to me hoping we would join them in prayer.
Iris was born July 16th with Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards syndrome, a serious genetic condition that can cause profound medical complications.
Two days after her birth, Tony says they were sent home on hospice with an NG tube for feeding and the devastating expectation that their daughter might have only days to live.
But Iris kept proving she was still here.
Tony says she thrived during her first week and a half before she began needing oxygen to maintain her levels.
The family made repeated trips to Birmingham as her condition worsened, and during the first two, he says they were told to take Iris home, keep her comfortable and prepare to let her go.
Imagine being a parent carrying your newborn back through that hospital door, knowing what you’ve been told, but watching your baby continue to fight.
Tony says he and Iris’ mom prayed about what to do and ultimately felt they couldn’t stop fighting while their daughter was still fighting herself.
So they brought her back.
Iris is now at UAB, where her family says specialists are evaluating her and doctors performed a spinal tap Tuesday to look for possible infection.
They are awaiting answers while taking her journey one day at a time.
And there is something incredibly poignant about the middle name her parents gave this little girl before knowing just how much they would need it.
Iris Faith.
Her parents are exhausted and scared.
And right now, what this family wants most is prayer.
Pray for Iris Faith and the tiny body that has already fought far beyond those first 2 to 7 days.
Pray for the specialists caring for her, for answers from her testing and for her parents as they make extraordinarily difficult decisions for the daughter they desperately love.
Thirty-four days ago, they were told they might have only days with her.
Tonight, she’s still here.
