Amina was born 16 weeks premature and weighed just 1 pound.
The little girl was so tiny and fragile that doctors put her in a sandwich bag to keep her warm as she fought for life.
But since then, this brave toddler has defied the odds to celebrate her first birthday.
Taylor Dobson’s daughter Amina had a heart defect as well as a brain bleed and weighed only 1 pound, 10 ounces at birth.
When she was born in February 2018, Amina had an open valve in her heart and a bleed on the brain – she was kept in hospital for 76 days.
Amina came into this world without making a sound, with Dobson praying her daughter would survive.
Taylor and her partner, Dahoud Maizer, were unable to see their daughter for the first three days until she was stabilised.
Doctors immediately took the little girl into NICU and hooked her up to wires and breathing tubes.
Taylor Dobson had an incompetent cervix and went into premature labor.
”The night before Amina was born I was admitted to the labour ward and told that I was having contractions, but that they would try to stop them by using magnesium for the next 24 hours”, Taylor told The Sun and continued:
”They assured me that it should stop the labour process from happening. I was admitted around 5pm and my contractions kept getting closer and closer all night long. By 9am my doctor came in and did an ultrasound of Amina saying that she was actually kicking herself out of my cervix. They told me I had an infection and that she needed to be delivered via emergency c-section immediately or she was at risk of catching it too”.
To help baby Amina survive, doctors used something most people would find in their kitchen – but it’s something that’s supported, countless preemies.
Amina was placed in a plastic sandwich bag.
The plastic material mimicked the conditions of her mother’s womb – making it perfect for the little girl as she grew.
And somehow this brave little girl managed to go home with her parents in Chicago just 10 weeks later.
Once she could breathe on her own, just a month before she was initially due to be born, Amina was able to go home, while weighing just over 3 pounds finally.
And since that nightmare on the hospital, Amina’s been doing incredibly well.
”Since she’s been home she was thrived in every single way possible. Amina no longer needs to see a cardiologist, optimologist, or any speciality doctors” Taylor said.
What a precious miracle she is! ???
Her mom and dad never thought Amina would make it, so to be here celebrating her first birthday is of course so special for them!
Let’s all celebrate little Amina’s precious first year of life and pray that she enjoys a very long and healthy life.
