After four months in a neonatal intensive care unit, a New York girl who was born at 23 weeks has been discharged home.
Tiffany Murray told "Good Morning America" that her first daughter, whom she named Miracle, is "the most beautiful blessing."
"When I was in the hospital, that's when her name hit me," said Murray, who is also a mom of four sons. "I kept on telling God, 'I need this baby more than she needs me.' And then when she came out, the doctor said, 'What is her name?' I said, 'She's my Miracle.'"
Miracle Khamyri, now 5 months, was born April 2, according to Murray.
The 42-year-old mom of 5 said that her latest pregnancy had been a stressful one, which she said "made Miracle come a little early."
"One day, I just woke up and I started having contractions, and I thought it was just pain of the baby moving, and I went to the hospital. That's when they told me I was contracting real bad and I was 1 centimeter [dilated]," Murray recalled.
Boy who was born at 26 weeks beats the odds, goes home from hospital for 1st timeMiracle was born at Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island, New York, weighing 1 pound, 6 ounces.
Despite arriving prematurely, doctors and nurses helped treat Miracle in the NICU and she gradually grew.
"The doctors that had her, the nurses that had her, they handled Miracle as if she was their own child. They all loved her. They all cared for her," said Murray.
Murray said Miracle had a heart murmur and required medications, blood transfusions and was treated with a CPAP machine while in the NICU. Today, her heart murmur has gone away and she only needs medication for acid reflux.
Micro-preemie baby goes home after spending first 6 months of life in hospitalBy the time she was discharged on Aug. 21, Miracle weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces, according to Murray.
On discharge day, over 30 hospital staffers lined the halls to give Miracle and her mom a "clap out" celebration.
"They touched my heart. That was a nice little ceremony," said Murray.
In a statement to "GMA," Richmond University Medical Center expressed joy at Miracle's homecoming.
"We are beyond thrilled to have Miracle join our family of NICU graduates. Our staff of physicians, nurses and medical professionals developed a deep bond with Miracle and her family over her time with us," the hospital said. "Miracle, her mom and her siblings are forever part of our RUMC family, and while we miss her, we are overjoyed that she is now home where she truly belongs."
For other parents with children in the NICU, Murray said she wants to tell them to take their time.
"Let the doctors heal your baby. God is over them, and just take it one day at a time with your child. Just go to them, visit them," she said.
