Tiny baby at Golisano Children’s Hospital beats odds, survives infection

A baby that doctors said wouldn’t make it through one day at Golisano Children’s Hospital has beaten the odds and survived.

Camila was born with an infection that increased the likelihood of death, but she fought through it and survived 101 days.

Medical professionals are shocked to see this tiny baby not just survive but thrive, calling this nothing less but a miracle.

“My original doctor said it was a 50/50,” said Crystal Nieves Ramos, Camilla’s mother. “She could live. She could die. That’s it. He was like, ‘What do you want to do?’ And I’m like, ‘I want her to live. I want her to be alive. She has to.’ Like, I prayed for this baby. She has to be out of here. It was hard to be, given those expectancies, like she might not make it.”

There are miracle babies, and then there’s Camilla.

“It’s extremely rare,” said Barbara Gallardo, a registered nurse at Golisano Children’s Hospital. “She’s definitely the youngest baby I have ever taken care of. I was shocked when I first saw her and started taking care of her.”

Since her unconventional birth, Camila has grown a lot.

“When she was first born, she was a pound and .9 ounces and measuring 25 centimeters. Now she’s weighing about 4 pounds,” Ramos said.

After working an 8-hour shift and 5 months before Camilla’s due date, Ramos rushed to the emergency room because she was bleeding and releasing amniotic fluid.

The next morning, her doctor broke the news.

“She breached. She needs to come out or she dies. I’m like, ‘What do you mean she dies?’ He said, ‘Either she stays in there breached and then the infection causes it and that’s it,'” Ramos said.

So, on April 17, at just 21 weeks, Camilla was born, with doctors telling Ramos and her husband Ricardo Santana that their baby may only live a few hours.

“She was so tiny and so fragile and the only thing you think of then and there is, I hope they make it. I hope they do good,” said Casey Braley, registered nurse at Golisano Children’s Hospital.

But with a mother’s and a father’s love, paired with a rock star medical team, Camilla made it to day 101 and will continue to for every day after that.

“We were praying nonstop because I said, ‘I’m not losing her. I can’t lose her.’ I prayed for her,” Ramos said.

Ramos praised her husband’s persistence during this tough time.

“He never missed a day. He hasn’t yet. He’s been here 101 days,” Ramos said.

Camilla is still in the NICU at Golisano Children’s Hospital, but doctors said she is improving every day.

And the next step will be her learning to eat on her own.

Camilla’s parents told WINK News that the first thing they’ll do once she’s able to go home is take her to church.

The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with Camila’s expenses.