Doctors wrongly predicted bleak future for premature baby

1 October 2014

Lucas returned home with his parents after spending 109 days in hospital

A baby boy who was almost denied treatment when he was born prematurely at 23 weeks has celebrated his first birthday.

Baby Lucas was born weighing just 520g, just over the 500g minimum which Coventry University Hospital require in order for a baby to qualify for life-saving treatment. Doctors had said that they were 99% sure he would be born with cerebral palsy and that he would be deaf and blind.

However, after spending 109 days in hospital, Lucas was allowed to return home with his parents where he now lives with the minor side-effects of his premature birth: short-sightedness and a smaller stature than other babies his age [Mail, 8 October]

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