Featured Image Credit: SWNS
Topics: Good News
Stewart Perrie
A premature baby who weighed less than 1kg when she was born has been given the best news possible.
Marley Hayes arrived into this world in April this year when her mum, Sophie Louise James, was 25 weeks pregnant.
While doctors attempted to keep the little one inside for as long as possible, the baby was born four days after Sophie was admitted to hospital.
She weighed just 750 grams and was placed in the NICU ward to ensure her survival.
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Medics worked around the clock to battle several health issues plaguing Marley, including renal failure, low calcium levels and a bleed on the brain.
The newborn spent more than 100 days in hospital and she's made a miracle recovery just in time for Christmas.
After several months of 24/7 care, the baby now weighs 4.3kgs and has been allowed to be discharged.
Sophie says it's the best present they could have hoped for.
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"At one point we didn't even think she'd see her first Christmas," the 30-year-old primary school teacher explained.
''It was something I didn't even dare hope for. She couldn't even drink my milk and wasn't growing at all, it was awful.
''We were constantly around parents who were losing their babies. We ended up just feeling so lucky.
"Marley had such a complex medical journey, but now she's home she's a super smiley baby, and even sleeps through the night.
''She's always got her octopus toy with her too, she's had him from day one so it's really amazing to see how much she's grown.
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''We're going to spend our first Christmas just the three of us. I've already bought so many festive baby grows and outfits for her to wear.
''She's going to look so sweet.''
Sophie says her pregnancy journey was fairly normal and didn't have any complications.
She admitted she had to have more scans after Polyhydramnios was detected, which is where there's too much fluid around the baby in the womb.
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However, apart from that, everything seemed fairly routine.
Sophie was in the middle of work when her water broke and she was rushed to the hospital.
"The doctors said she would need everything doing for her to keep her alive, so she was incubated and put straight on a ventilator," the 30-year-old said.
The family is set to go all out for Christmas this year to celebrate Marley being discharged and in good health.