'Miracle' baby given 2% chance of survival now home with her family

A baby girl in Nebraska has been called a 'miracle' after doctors gave her a mere 2% chance of survival at birth. Now five months old, she is home with her family.

Key Takeaways:

• Millie Dwyer was delivered by emergency c-section after doctors discovered she had a condition called hydrops fetalis, which was caused by Turner's syndrome.

• Millie was given just a 2% chance of survival due to her diagnoses.

• She beat the odds and survived; after 115 days in the NICU, she is now home with her family.

The Details:

In January, Millie Dwyer was delivered by c-section after doctors discovered she had hydrops fetalis, a condition that causes abnormal fluid buildup in a baby's body. Doctors say the condition was triggered by Turner's syndrome, a condition that affects only females and results when one of the X chromosomes is missing or partially missing.

According to KITV, Millie was given just a 2% chance of survival due to her diagnoses.

A 2% survival rate: Sioux City family shares miracle baby’s fight to survive

“Something I never thought would happen to us,” said Dylan Dwyer, Millie’s dad. “You never think you’re gonna have the sick kid, but it just gets thrown at you, and you just gotta figure it out day by day and here we are, five months later.”

Zoom In:

Millie's mom, Tayla Schager, said that when Millie was in the womb, she had a cystic hygroma behind her neck, which then migrated to her stomach. That caused Millie's bowels to perforate in utero, swelling her stomach to 40 centimeters around. After birth, doctors worked to treat the condition.

“They drained 100 milliliters out of her stomach at first. They could have gone more than that, but that could have sent her body into shock ultimately,” Schager explained.

Millie's heart nearly stopped when she was two weeks old, but she pulled through that as well.

After 115 days in the NICU, Millie is now home with her family. Millie still faces health challenges, but her family is supporting her.

“She’s playing with her toys. She gets so excited. You smile at her, she smiles back, she coos just like a normal baby,” Schager said. “We’re very lucky to have her. She’s really a miracle baby.”

The Bottom Line:

Millie's story is an important lesson showing that dire diagnoses are not always a death sentence. The medical community would do well to seek more ways to heal preborn children instead of advocating for their deaths by abortion.