Premature baby home after 4 months in intensive care

A Broken Arrow baby boy is finally home with his family after nearly four months in intensive care. He was born premature, only 26 weeks along. <br/><br/>The rest of his development has been a struggle

Thursday, April 14th 2005, 11:32 am

By: News On 6

A Broken Arrow baby boy is finally home with his family after nearly four months in intensive care. He was born premature, only 26 weeks along.

The rest of his development has been a struggle for survival outside his mother's womb.The News on 6's Heather Lewin introduces us to the mother of the baby she calls 'a fighter.'

Benjamin Rodrequez' birthday 'should' have been sometime last week. Instead, he came into the world nearly four months early, barely alive. His mom, Lori Rodrequez, had an uneventful pregnancy, her fourth, until one fateful day. â€œMy water broke December 14th and I went in the hospital."

Doctors held off four ten days then had to deliver, fearing for the health of mother and child. "My contractions started at about 2 or 3 in the morning and it was 22 hours of contractions without really progressing." Benjamin was born December 24th at a mere 1 and a half pounds. It was a Christmas unlike any other. Instead of relaxing at home and planning for the new baby, the holiday was a round the clock vigil at Benjamin's bedside in neo-natal intensive care.

He had only a 50-50 chance of survival. "Seeing all the equipment to keep him alive really made me question whether he could survive at all. Christmas didn't really feel like it happened this year." But after fighting his way through pneumonia, a ventilator, feeding tubes, even laser eye surgery to prevent blindness, Benjamin finally came home just a few days ago, much improved, but not completely out of the woods. "We have to be very careful of germs and make sure that we don't take him out, you know around big crowds."

Now that he's doing so well, Lori says hospital staffers, grown close to this miracle baby, confess how worried they truly were. "There were just tons of people that would come to me and say, you know I didn't think when I came in the next day that he would be here." It's a part of motherhood she never expected, but now embraces with open arms. "It's been difficult, but God has truly brought us through it, you know I've been very fortunate to have more tears of joy than tears of sorrow. I wouldn't give him back for anything."

Benjamin now weighs just over 6 pounds. Lori and her husband Jeff update family and friends on his condition with the help of a special website, Caring Bridge.org that provides free space for families in medical crisis.