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Stevie O’Reilly has captured hearts as Australia’s youngest surviving premature baby, arriving in the world at just 22 weeks.
Her journey from uncertainty to thriving health is a testament to resilience, as her delighted parents recount their path from heartache to joy.
Stevie’s story is nothing short of miraculous.
“It’s just unbelievable, the fortune we’ve experienced,” said Bree Basile, Stevie’s mother.
Born four and a half months ahead of schedule, Stevie made history 22 weeks and three days ago as the youngest premature baby to survive in Australia.
“We’ve been through the ups and downs, and good days and bad days and bad weeks but we’ve got a result at the end and she’s pretty special,” dad Jake O’Reilly said.
The expectant parents from Perth’s northern suburbs were on a plane to Queensland for a family holiday when the trip took a turn.
Bree had unknowingly caught an infection, which had silently spread, causing labour to come on early.
“Resuscitation usually isn’t offered for babies under 22 weeks and that’s just because babies being so immature,” Basile said.
“Trying to hold her in just meant crossing my legs and holding on for dear life and nothing was going to happen.”
The parents were told to prepare for the worst.
Instead, she came into the world a fighter, weighing just 500 grams, about the same as a typical pack of dried pasta.
She has survived surgery, sepsis, a perforation in her bowel and two collapsed lungs, and is now thriving.
But the family’s story is not without heartbreak; twin brother Adrian died at 19 days old.
“We were allowed to hold him for three days, because we knew he was going to pass before he did and Jake slept with him on his chest for the whole night,” Basile said.
“We were happy even in such a miserable situation.”
Bree and Stevie spent three months in intensive care in Townsville before finally being given the all-clear to board a Royal Flying Doctor plane home with a pit-stop at Uluru.
Today, at four months old, Stevie’s being cared for at King Edward Memorial Hospital under the watchful eye of a dedicated team.
“You can really see the difference that you can make for parents and their babies,” medical co-director for neonatal services Mary Sharp said.
“And they’re very precious babies.”
Stevie’s now five times her birth weight, and her mum and dad hope to take her home for the first time in the next couple of weeks, just in time for Christmas.
They spoke to 9News last night to give hope to other families who desperately need it.
“There’s a lot of grief in having a baby born early, or sick and spending a lot of time in hospital,” Miracle Babies Foundation nurture program team leaderMegan Norbury said.
” … It’s just not what you thought life as a parent was going to be like.”
But there’s no doubt special things are to come for Stevie, the brave little miracle.
“I really feel like she’s got the strength of two in her, knowing that she can do whatever she sets her mind to, because she’s already done that in many many ways,” Basile said.