A Louisiana family is celebrating this February after their 7-month-old was discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit for the first time.
Baby Brooks Joseph got to go home Feb. 1 from Woman's Hospital in Baton Rouge, about 30 weeks after his birth on July 4, 2024.
"It was just the moment that we've been waiting so long for," Brooks' mother Amber Turbeville told "Good Morning America." "It felt really good."
The doctors, nurses and staff at Woman's Hospital gave Brooks a fond farewell parade, complete with cheers and pom-poms.
Amber Turbeville unexpectedly gave birth to her son Brooks at their Denham Springs home last summer, and dad Dustin Turbeville helped deliver him. After first responders arrived, they rushed the family in two separate ambulances to Ochsner Medical Center, also in Baton Rouge, where Amber Turbeville also delivered Brooks' fraternal twin brother Beckett Lee via emergency caesarean section.
Because Amber Turbeville had complications during the pregnancy and developed an infection, doctors told the family Beckett stopped developing at 16 weeks and that he wouldn't be able to live after he was born.
"There was nothing they physically could have done for Beckett," the 28-year-old mom explained. "Beckett lived for about two hours, so we did have a few moments and we got pictures and moments with our family with him, so that was very beautiful."
Since then, the Turbevilles have focused on supporting Brooks, who was transferred to Woman's Hospital after his birth, and taking his health journey day by day.
"We never really lost hope," Dustin Turbeville said.
"He's probably the most strong and determined person that I've ever met in my life. We always say that when we grow up, we want to be like Brooksie," he added.
The first-time father said they had to "do everything on Brooks' time" but slowly, Brooks made progress, and his parents said he didn't just survive but is now thriving too.
Brooks has since gone from his birth weight of 1 pound, 7.5 ounces to 14 pounds now.
"Overall, he's doing good. He's recovered very beautifully from all of his surgeries. He is tolerating his feeds better than he was [before], so we're getting the hang of that too and just trying to get the hang of home," said Amber Turbeville. "Our next big adventure is just getting him to develop and get him the things he needs to thrive in life."
As they get settled at home, Amber and Dustin Turbeville said they're excited for their next chapter and also plan on never letting Brooks forget about his twin brother.
"We definitely plan on honoring his brother his whole life," Dustin Turbeville said. "If he has questions, we'll gladly answer them with an age-appropriate answer, but we'll never let him forget his brother."
The first-time parents said their message to other NICU parents is to never lose hope.
"The best advice that I can give for NICU parents is don't look for the light at the end of the tunnel. Let the light at the end of the tunnel find you," Dustin Turbeville said. "These babies need to work on their own time and they need to progress and prove to themselves and to everyone else that they can do it. And it's on their time."
