Drayton Brindisi, the smallest surviving premature baby in a Connecticut hospital's history, is now 18 and going to college. He recently reunited with the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) staff that cared for him when he was at his most fragile.

Key Takeaways:

• Eighteen-year-old Drayton Brindisi was born at 23 weeks gestation at Connecticut Children's Medical Center, weighing just 15 ounces.

• He was so small that nurses had to use a cotton ball as a diaper.

• Doctors gave him little chance of survival, but he is now heading off to college.

The Backstory:

When Drayton Brindisi was born in 2008, doctors initially didn't think he would survive. “They said anything beyond walking, talking, and breathing would be a perk, and we are living a perk world, bonus world,” his mother Heather Brindisi said.

At his birth, Brindisi weighed just 15 ounces — so small that nurses at Connecticut Children's Medical Center (CCMC) had to use a cotton ball for a diaper; even the diapers designed for premature babies were too small for him.

Michele Dwire, one of the NICU nurses who cared for him, said survival for a micro-preemie like Brindisi was unusual.

“Eighteen years ago, it was very unusual for somebody with his prematurity, his diagnoses, his size to have the outcome that he has today,” she explained, adding, “We were at his bedside 24/7, usually not stepping more than a foot away because he required the best of the best and the most critical of care."

Doctors thought that if Brindisi did survive, he would only do so with major complications. He had to undergo multiple surgeries and spent five months in the NICU.

Connecticut Children's smallest NICU patient returns 18 years later

When Brindisi was finally able to go home, he did so with a feeding tube, but he surpassed all expectations. His recovery was so unexpected that his family spent time fundraising for CCMC in gratitude, and to help other preemies like him. Yet once he recovered, he never let his difficult start in life slow him down, as he became what his mother called an "energetic and social child."

"Drayton wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for everything Connecticut Children’s Medical Center has done for him and our family," his father Andrew said during a 2018 fundraiser, in which the family raised $11,000. "He really is a miracle but we like to call it the ‘Connecticut Children’s Miracle Center’ because they do them every day."

The Details:

Today, Drayton Brindisi is 18 and heading to college. “It feels incredible to be going to college, especially a Christian college where I can really connect with other people and maybe even share my story,” he said.

But before setting off on his new path, he and his family reunited with the NICU team that cared for him. “He was less than the size of a hand,” nurse Stephanie Marcow said. “To see him now, so healthy, so smart, playing the trumpet despite the lung disease he had, it’s just absolutely amazing.”

Today, survival rates for preemies as young as Brindisi have drastically increased. Though 24 weeks is often considered the age of viability, babies born as young as 21 weeks are surviving.

Recent estimates state that babies born at 22 weeks have a 24.9% chance of survival and those born at 25 weeks have an 82.1% chance.

The Bottom Line:

Brindisi hopes his story can serve as inspiration for other families with premature infants like him. “Don’t ever lose hope. Don’t give up,” he said. “There’s always a chance that the child will survive, not only survive, but even thrive like I did.”