In the medical world, 22 weeks is a threshold known as the “limit of viability.” It is a fragile boundary where the odds are stacked heavily against a newborn surviving outside the mother’s womb.
Baby Safir Islamm is defying those statistics.
To celebrate his resilience, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Palm Beach Children’s Hospital at St. Mary’s Medical Center threw a first birthday party on June 25 for the little boy who has quite literally grown up alongside them over the past year.
Born weighing a mere 1 pound, 3 ounces, Safir spent his first 365 days of life fighting. He has undergone a multitude of surgeries and faced a run of medical hurdles, but today, he weighs a thriving 8 pounds and continues to surpass every expectation.
Dr. Michelle Herring, the NICU’s medical director, remembered just how delicate Safir was in those initial days. “He’s a teeny baby, and if you think about that when he was born, he’s really at the limits of viability,” Herring said. “At 22 weeks, it is extraordinarily premature, so a very fragile little child.”
Said Dr. Adrian Florens, a neonatologist: “The chances of survival are low. Let’s say, if you want to say, 90% of them don’t survive, and once we get into the complication aspect of it, 90% of them have severe complications.”
For Safir’s parents, the suddenness of labor left them reeling, forcing them to confront a familiar grief before their newborn son even had a chance to fight. Years prior, their last son had experienced similar premature struggles but passed away within eight days of birth.
“Suddenly, it happened. My bleeding started, it’s pain, and he was born,” Fahmida Islamm, his mother. “Today I can see him, I really don’t know. … “
The past year has been a balancing act for the parents, who split their time between being with Safir at the hospital and raising their teenage daughter at home in the West Palm Beach area. Yet through the exhaustion and the painful memories of the past, Safir kept giving them reasons to hope.
“When he was born, our hope is already gone because we thought he might be not survive,” said Shaharier Islam, his father. “We didn’t expect that he will survive.”
Day after day in the NICU, the tiny infant met every hurdle with an unexpected resilience, quickly earning a reputation among the hospital staff as relentless and a fighter.
“He’s had a very rough journey. He’s been through a lot,” said Allie Soderholm, one of his NICU nurses. “He’s a fighter, obviously, as you can see.”
As the months passed, Safir grew from a fragile patient into the undisputed heart of the unit.
“He’s really a miracle. He’s just a miracle. He’s so strong,” Soderholm said. “He just lights up the room. Every nurse, every doctor, every therapist just loves him.”
That affection goes both ways. Spending an entire year in intensive care means the medical staff becomes much more than just a clinical care team.
“We get very attached to these babies,” Florence said. “We’re all like a family.”
While a first birthday is a milestone for any child, for Safir’s family, it is a testament to faith, medical dedication and an unyielding will to live. As they look past the balloons and birthday cake, his parents are focusing on the ultimate gift: finally bringing their son home.
“It’s thanks to the God that saved him and thanks to the St. Mary’s Hospital, doctors, nurse. They are working very, very hard. They are the best hospital,” Shaharier Islamm said. “Now we are waiting for when he will go home with us.”
Emmy Bailey is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: ‘Miracle’ preemie baby celebrates first birthday at St. Mary’s NICU
Reporting by Emmy Bailey, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Emmy Bailey, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
