A premature baby who has recovered after being born the size of a Superman action figure celebrates every birthday by posing next to his toy.
When Logan Ray was born, he only weighed 1.5lb was just 12 inches in length. And while the doctors told his parent to expect the worst, Logan was able to survive and go home after spending 105 days at the hospital. His dad, Rob, even bought a 12-inch Superman toy as a reminder of how tiny his baby was. And his mom, Val, has taken photos of him every birthday next to the toy to document his progress.
Superman toy as a reminder of how far Logan has come
Val recalls nurses telling her to put something next to Logan to compare how he is recovering, size-wise. So she had her husband go out and pick out something. She said she preferred something they could disinfect and placed inside the incubators such as a doll. When her husband suggested a Superman doll, she thought it was perfect.
Val went to the doctor when she was 21 weeks pregnant with Logan as she felt something was wrong. Her ultrasound revealed that she had an incompetent cervix. Also called cervical insufficiency, an incompetent cervix is a condition that causes the cervix to open too soon, hence, contributes to premature birth or miscarriage.
She underwent cervical cerclage because her cervix has almost disappeared. However, the procedure was not successful and so the doctors told them to get ready for the worst. Val said they were basically told that they will be sent home to miscarry. But the couple looked at the doctor and said they are not going anywhere. They said they wanted to stay in the hospital whether they will have the baby the next day or four months later.
Prem baby who was the size of a superman doll when he was born celebrates his birthdays with the toy still by his side... Posted by real fix on Friday, October 23, 2020
Mom put on bedrest and basically "upside-down" for 20 days
She was then put on bed rest. Her head was at all times positioned lower than her feet and was not allowed to get up for 20 days. Rob said he didn't realize how strong Val was until he saw her lie in the hospital bed, basically upside down, all those 20 days.
On July 25, 2016, Val gave birth after 32 hours of labor. Logan was then rushed to the NICU ward. Apart from having an inguinal hernia and urinary tract infection, the baby had two brain bleeds and two holes in his heart.
Then at five weeks, he was flown to Randall Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon to see if he needs dialysis. Test results said Logan had UTI and so he didn't need dialysis. At that point, Rob said they had a real fear of losing him and thought he didn't have a chance of pulling through. Logan also had to undergo laser eye surgery at 11-weeks-old to fix his retinopathy which could have otherwise caused him to lose his sight.
Logan is now a healthy four-year-old. His mom said they had taken photos of him holding his Superman toy every birthday and it amazes them when they compare the size difference then and now. His parents would then remind him that he used to be just that big.
His father said Logan is an incredible little boy and he is just thankful that their baby didn't have as many health problems as other babies born like him.
