GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A couple in Grand Rapids brought home their baby Friday morning, something they've waited for months to do. Born weighing just 1 pound, they say baby Noah's survival is a miracle.
Rebecca and Don Markle say it's a moment they weren't sure they would ever have.
"I think we were both terrified. We had two previous loses at 17 weeks and 20 weeks, so we've been through the losing the baby but we've never been through the having a baby," Rebecca said.
In January, they feared they would also lose Noah. He was born premature at just 1 pound and spent the first 132 days of his life in the neonatal intensive care unity.
"We never knew when we were going to get out," Rebecca said. "As a mom, it's so hard leaving your baby. You have them and you have the nurturing side. You want to be able to take care of them, and knowing you have to walk away each day and leave them in the hands of nurses is really difficult."
The couple left Noah in the hands of experts. Those doctors and nurses say his journey is extremely rare.
"Mr. Noah and his family is a very rare occurrence you'll see come out of the NICU," said Kamera Daniel, a nurse at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. "He was born at 22 weeks and we see 22 weekers come out of our small baby unit very rarely."
Noah isn't out of the woods yet, but his family says the support of the community and their family will help them through.
"Everybody's just been so helpful and everybody just asks 'do you need anything?' 'What can we do to help you?' And just the prayers and support have been overwhelming," Don said.
