Baby girl given 30 minutes to live celebrates her first birthday

A baby girl has beaten the odds and survived after doctors initially predicted she would only live for a short time after birth due to a large tumor in her chest seen during an ultrasound.

Baby Lily Rudd and her identical twin sister Frances just celebrated their first birthday — a remarkable milestone for baby Lily, who was born with a grapefruit-sized tumor in her chest, crushing her heart and lungs. According to 7News, doctors predicted she would live for about 30 minutes after birth. Her condition is said to be so rare, that cases like it have only been seen 30 times worldwide.

“We were told to expect half an hour with Lily,” said her father James. “That was all they thought that we would have.”

But after birth, doctors did everything they could to save her. Lily was taken to The Royal Children’s Hospital for emergency surgery. The huge malignant tumor had pushed her heart sideways and it took eight hours for surgeons to remove it. Lily remained on life support for two months following the surgery.

“Her prognosis was very bad, but they were still willing to give her a chance,” said her mother Lexi O’Dea.

After just 97 days in the hospital, however, she was able to be sent home with her parents and twin sister. Pediatric surgeon Joseph Crameri called it “miraculous.”

“It’s miraculous to see how she’s done from such a challenging position,” he told 7News.

The family recently reunited with the doctors who worked to save Lily’s life as part of the Good Friday Appeal, an event that raises money for The Royal Children’s Hospital. They shared their gratitude for the doctors and medical teams as well as to those who financially support the hospital, allowing it to obtain the medical equipment that helped save Lily.

“Without them, our family wouldn’t be complete,” said James. “We owe them everything. She’s perfect.”

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