On March 4, 2022, Lauren Ormston, 27, went into premature labor at St. Peter's Hospital in Surrey, UK, and delivered a baby at just 23 weeks.
Isla's parents, Lauren and her 31-year-old fiancé Oliver Dewey, were horrified to learn that her chances of survival were only 10% due to her small size.
After five months of battle for life in the hospital, a baby who was born weighing less than a loaf of bread has eventually gone home.
First-time mother Lauren, a healthcare facilitator, was induced on the 23rd week, and she gave delivery in two hours using only gas and air.
After being taken to the neonatal ward, baby Isla was discovered to have a hole in her heart and a level two hemorrhage on her brain. Isla was finally released from the hospital on July 12th, 2022, after spending five months there and gaining 10lb 8oz.
"I started feeling awful stomach pains and I simply thought the baby was moving around," said Lauren, a resident of Hartley Wintney, Hampshire. "But when the discomfort escalated, I realized something was wrong."
"It was frightening.
The risk had to be taken, though, and I'm so pleased I did.
"I only needed gas and air throughout the birth," she said.
Isla was placed on a ventilator after I could only hold her for six minutes.
She appeared to be so frail and little that even the smallest movement may cause her to break.
Although I knew my newborn girl was a warrior, I was incredibly anxious.
"It's a miracle she's still alive.
Isla was born requiring the use of a ventilator since she was unable to breathe on her own.
She had transparent skin, allowing Lauren to see every vein throughout her body.
I went about my daily life without knowing if she would survive from one day to the next or from one hour to the next.
She was taken off the ventilator after six weeks, but she still required an oxygen mask over her face.
Her tiny hand was hardly bigger than the tip of my husband's pinky finger when we had our first embrace.
On June 15, 2022, she had surgery, but the procedure was unsuccessful, therefore Isla lost her eye sight in one eye.
Isla fought for her life, and losing an eye isn't the worst thing that could have occurred, according to Lauren.
Although Isla's right eye is still functioning and movable, she remains blind due to the detached retina.
Isla, who is now eight months old, was finally allowed to leave the hospital and spend the night in her own room for the first time on July 12.
It was a rollercoaster, and I'm so thrilled that Isla is back home and content, said Lauren.
'I can't believe I was taken to the hospital two weeks after our scan at 20 weeks came back normal.
It's crucial to pay attention to such pains and to follow your instincts.
She was so small at birth that it seemed unlikely that she would survive, yet to see her now is like seeing a miracle.
"Isla is a bundle of joy, and we are overjoyed to have a daughter now," said the parents.
Now that Isla is no longer on assisted oxygen, we intend to take her on a vacation.
"We are very happy to spend every moment in the comfort of our own home," they said. "We are so proud of her for battling."