Maple Grove hospital's "miracle baby" home after 334-day stay in neonatal intensive care unit

After 334 days in a neonatal intensive care unit in Maple Grove, Minnesota, North Memorial Health's "miracle baby" is finally home.

Jasmin Wellington went into labor early, and unexpectedly, with her son Adonis last October. He was born at 24 weeks and five days, weighing just 1 pound, 8 ounces. He would need to be intubated for months. His survival and full recovery were considered a long shot.

"The first couple of days, he was really, really sick," said Katherine Martinson, a nurse. "I remember going home and coming back and saying, 'I hope and pray he's still here.'"

Adonis contracted methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and pneumonia on separate occasions in his first few months of life.

"It's been a lot of ups and downs. It's been a long journey. Definitely a lot of anxiety in the beginning when he had more critical care," said Wellington. "It's hard to describe a long NICU journey like this. I really don't know how I even survived."

Adonis' parents credit their faith for pulling them through.

"It was God's plan, because we didn't have no control of anything," said Junior Rancy-Quaye, Adonis' father. "Just have faith, put your trust in God, that's the only recipe that we've got."

Adonis will still need oxygen for the time being, but his care team is hopeful he won't need it as he grows. As of Friday, as he nears his first birthday, he weighs more than 20 pounds.

"It's a miracle that he's going home," said Martinson. "A lot of babies at that gestation that are born that early go to a different hospital to get a trach, or g-tube or other specialized care that we don't have here. The fact he's going home with his family is a huge deal."

Martinson added, "I want people to believe in miracles, because he really is, he really is a miracle. I know other people have said that, but he truly is. Miracles do happen. Give babies a chance when they're born that early; a lot of people don't realize they can exceed expectations, even when they're born that early."