 | | This group of college students were all miracle babies; they were each once slightly bigger than a dollar bill at birth. | |
 | | Katie Kenefick shows off a photo of herself as a micro-preemie, wearing her dad's wedding ring as a bracelet. | |
 | | Dr. Ronald Hoekstra is the neonatologist who kept these six former micro-preemies alive. | |
 | | Dr. Hoekstra was delighted to see his former patients, and showed them some micro-preemies just like they once were. | |
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These college students share an amazing story of survival. They were all miracle babies: at birth they were given only a 50% chance of living. The micro-preemies were slightly bigger than a dollar bill, weighing only two pounds or less and all fighting for their lives.
"It's just awesome that we all survived," says Katie Kenefick.
Kenefick shows off a photo of herself as a micro-preemie, wearing her dad's wedding ring as a bracelet.
Jon Englholm was once a frail baby boy, not much bigger than his teddy bear. Now 18, Jon is a strapping 6'2" college football player.
19-year-old cheerleader Alicia Shuman once weighed just over a pound when she was born.
"Being so small, you're a born fighter," says Shuman.
They've returned to the Minneapolis Children's Hospital for a reunion with the doctor who kept them all alive.
"I was always thankful when I saw them go home and even more thankful when they didn't come back," says neonatologist Dr. Ronald Hoekstra.
It's the first time he's seen them since they were micro-preemies. And Dr. Hoekstra had a treat of his own for his former patients: a glimpse of micro-preemies just like they once were.
"We really were this tiny!" says Shuman.
Their inspirational story landed them in People magazine. They are proof that babies born so small can grow up and dream big.
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