23-Week 'Micropremie' Finally Home After 148 NICU Fight

This is the emotional moment a ‘micropreemie’ born 1lb 6oz at just 23 weeks (about five-and-a-half months) was finally able to leave hospital to go home after a 148-day NICU journey. Mom Selena Lopez, from Fort Worth, Texas, thought she was experiencing belly cramps at work on December 1, 2023, until later that evening her pain continued getting worse. During the night she told her mom about the worsening pain who immediately rushed her to their local ER, where staff told Selena she was already 9cm dilated and that her baby was breech. In a whirlwind few moments she was then rushed to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth because doctors said her baby would have a better chance of survival there. After arriving, Selena was taken in for an emergency C-Section in the early hours of December 2 while her partner Christian, 23, and Selena’s mom had to wait outside hoping for positive news. When she woke, hospital staff explained her daughter had a 35% chance of survival and how it was likely many complications lay ahead of them. But baby Viviana never gave up fighting, and during their 148-day NICU journey, Selena and Christian captured milestone moments on video including the first time they held their daughter. Finally, on April 28, 2024, they walked through the halls of the NICU for the final time, with the memories of the previous five months visibly flashing across their emotional faces fighting back tears.

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