Rosalie Hope Worsdell weighed just 1lb 5oz – less than a can of soup – when she was born 17 weeks early.
Her feet were so tiny they were each only the size of a wedding ring.
No wonder then that she was given just a five per cent chance of even surviving a day.
But she emerged fighting, and kept on overcoming what seemed like insurmountable challenges.
By the time she was four months old she had undergone three critical surgeries – including a major heart operation – and 26 emergency blood transfusions.
But after a harrowing 140 days in intensive care, her proud parents, Cally and Luke Worsdell, were finally able to take their little fighter home.
Now, pictured smiling happily, little Rosalie is a thriving, healthy 15-month-old.
Cally says: “We feel like the luckiest parents in the world. We spent so many sleepless nights tossing and turning, it was agony. But we never gave up and neither did she.”
Cally, 25, was terrified when she discovered she was going into labour at just 23 weeks and one day pregnant.
She was suffering from placental abruption – a serious condition in which the placenta starts to come away from the inside of the womb wall.
“Everything was running smoothly and there weren’t any problems at the 20-week scan, but three weeks later I felt a bit strange and my stomach hurt,” recalls Cally.
“I work in a hospital so I asked a nurse on the maternity ward to check my blood pressure and she said, ‘do not move, you are in labour’. I couldn’t believe it.
“Luke rushed to the hospital and spent the next four days by my side. I had to lie on a tilt with my head down and bottom up in a bid to keep her in.
“The doctors prepared us for the worst and warned us babies aren’t viable until 24 weeks so they wouldn’t be obliged to save her if she didn’t breathe on her own.
“She was 36 hours short of being viable, but thankfully she made three little cries when she was born. It was a huge relief to hear her, but doctors told us there was only a five per cent chance she’d make it through her first day.”
Although the odds were against her, Cally and Luke say they had a “gut feeling” she would pull through.
Rosalie was blue-lighted from Medway Maritime Hospital to Kings College NICU, put on a ventilator and fed through a tube.
First-time mum Cally, from Maidstone, Kent, says: “It was so hard hearing our baby might die. It’s difficult because nobody prepares you for what can go wrong – we thought there was a high chance of her being disabled with a poor quality of life.
“The first nine days were promising as she was fine, but then the start of many problems began. At 16 days old, she needed emergency surgery and a temporary stoma bag – her perforated bowel was causing her to balloon as the milk was leaking into her abdomen.
“She was in a critical condition and the surgery was performed on the ward as she wasn’t stable enough to be moved into theatre. It was the longest six hours of our lives.
“The doctors said one in three babies with necrotising enterocolitis dies on the operating table, which was horrible to hear.
“Thankfully, she recovered well from the surgery and that is when we realised she was a little fighter.
“But that didn’t stop every day from being doom and gloom because she was so vulnerable.”
At nine weeks old, medics discovered an open duct in Rosalie’s tiny heart. This is quite common for premature babies and can sometimes be fixed with paracetamol. But Rosalie needed keyhole surgery.
Cally says: “I spent so many nights tossing and turning as I was worried about what may happen next with our baby. It was agony.”
During her stay in NICU at King’s, Rosalie had 26 blood transfusions.
Then at three months old, she had injections in her eyes as she developed retinopathy of prematurity – a disease that could have potentially left her blind.
She underwent another surgery at four months old to reverse her stoma.
Cally says: “As the weeks passed, we became quite resilient as she always bounced back. After her third and final surgery, her lungs collapsed, which was another devastating setback.
“It is crazy to think she had been through so much before her due date last August 6. But she never gave up – and neither did we.” After four weeks and five days, Cally was able to cuddle her baby for the first time.
She says: “I sat with Rosalie for 16 hours a day so it was really nice to finally hold her, but the risk overruled the reward.
“It was scary as there were so many wires attached to her – I was petrified in case something went wrong.”
Luke, 26, who is a director of a cleaning services company, says: “It is very rare for a baby to be born so early and there is no reason behind it.
“It was horrible hearing negative stuff all the time as we were given the worst-case scenarios, but if
there was no chance of survival, then they wouldn’t have done the surgeries. We weren’t going to give her a middle name but when she was taken to NICU, I said to Cally, ‘all we can do is hope’ – and that's how we got her middle name.
“It was a very difficult situation and we can’t praise the charities enough – Rosalie would not be here today if she didn’t have the donated incubator to lie in.
“Cally wouldn’t have been able to stay by her side every day while I worked as we live over an hour away.”
The couple are “beyond proud” of Rosalie, who they refer to as Miss Independent.
Cally adds: “Rosalie is so full of life and constantly smiling from the moment she wakes up. It has been amazing to watch her grow and develop such a funny personality, and reach all her milestones without any delays.
“She is right where she needs to be – she can crawl, clap and even say dad.
“We feel like the luckiest parents in the world. We are sharing her story to give other parents some hope.”
Visit Ickles Pickles and Ronald McDonald House charities to donate or read more about how they help families and babies like Rosalie.
