Michaela Lugton and Barry McLachlan saved their 22-weeks-old premature baby after ignoring the doctor's advice. Due to the baby's low chances of survival, the doctor suggested, six times, for the parents to turn off his life-support system.
On March 3, 2019, the 21-year-old mom gave birth to her baby boy, Noah, who weighed only 450 grams. The medical team immediately brought the newborn into the neonatal intensive care unit and placed him on a ventilator since he could not breathe properly.
Noah suffered from collapsed lungs, a grade two bleeding on the brain, and multiple rounds of sepsis. He also endured chronic lung disease and 12 operations that included eye surgery.
Doctors advise to turn-off the life-support
Lugton experienced heavy breathing and sickness when she was pregnant with Noah. Doctors told the young couple that their baby would have little chance of survival at 22 weeks. When Noah was in the hospital, doctors advised that the parents turn their baby's life-support off to let him go on his own. His parents refused and kept praying that their son would fight his way.
In December 2019, nine months after his stay in the hospital, Noah went home. After his discharge, his parents brought him to their home in Edinburgh, Scotland. He had oxygen and feeding tubes, but he was declared a healthy little boy.
The young couple was so proud of the sweetest little boy. They were devastated when they thought that they would lose him. They refused to turn off his life-support system because they were desperate for him to fight.
Lugton said that despite going through so much, Noah never stops smiling.
Mom suffered two miscarriages
In November 2017, the couple met at a Tesco car park and fell in love at first sight. They immediately decided to start a family together. Lugton suffered two miscarriages. The teenage mom said that the doctors found out she has a binorculate womb, which meant a heart-shaped womb. The doctors said that it did not affect her fertility.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Michaela Lugton (@ml20xo) on Apr 30, 2020 at 10:05am PDT
Lugton went in and out of the hospital as soon as they knew she was pregnant for the third time. On February 24, 2019, she was in her 22nd week of pregnancy when her water bag broke. Her doctors gave her steroids just in case she gave birth prematurely.
Expect the worse
The doctors told the couple that their baby would not survive. The new mom begged doctors and nurses to help their baby live. However, on the same day Noah was born, doctors told the couple to expect the worse.
The parents stayed with their son, and the doctors allowed them to take the baby out of his incubator. They cuddled him and made prints of his feet to make the most of his memories because they thought that it would be his last night. The next day at four in the morning, their baby was still fighting.
Fifty percent chance of survival
Suddenly, Noah developed Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC), which is a disease that affects premature babies. He underwent surgery with a 50 percent chance of survival. After eight hours, he came out with a stoma to help him excrete body waste.
Two days later, the stoma slipped out, so Noah had to undergo surgery again. After that, he developed NEC again, twice. The series of horrible experiences happened in nine months.
On March 3, 2020, Noah turned one. He is now doing amazingly well even though he still suffers lung disease and is still on oxygen tubes.
The couple could imagine their life without Noah. Lugton wants moms with premature babies to know that there is always hope even if the world is against them.
See also:
For a month, doctor cared for a baby whose parents are COVID-19 positive
Mom and son serve homemade food to the needy during the pandemic
Dad wore mermaid costume to grant daughter's 8th birthday wish
