There’s no love stronger than a mother’s love – that’s something moms worldwide are willing to argue. Even in the most impossible situations, moms hang on to every bit of faith they have for the sake of their children.
In Australia, a mom prematurely gave birth to her son at 25 weeks. He weighed only 838 grams and was on life support for five months. Throughout the child’s struggle to survive, his mom, Nicole Dib, never gave up.
The mother powered through all the terrifying days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and insisted her son could make it. Dib’s pregnancy was high-risk. It was the same for her first daughter Aaliyah, who was born at 33 weeks and spent two weeks in the NICU.
However, she knew things were different when her water broke at only 25 weeks with her son Jibreel. “Okay, this is bad. This is too soon,” she recalled saying.
The Mom Insisted on Fighting
Doctors fought to stop Dib from giving birth because the chances of Jibreel surviving were slim. Nonetheless, three days after rushing to the hospital, she needed to undergo an emergency caesarian. It was then that Dib realized each day made a huge difference.
Unlike in usual cases where a mom could see her baby after birth, Dib was unable to hold her newborn. Jibreel was rushed to the NICU, where doctors fought to keep him alive. When the mom finally saw him, she was shocked that he looked more like a fetus than a newborn.
Doctors hooked Jibreel to several monitors and a life support machine for months. Dib and her partner were asked whether they wanted to revive or resuscitate in case their baby flatlined.
Along the way, things were looking dismal. Jibreel’s organs began failing, and his bowels were starting to die. Each time another part of his body shut down, doctors asked the distressed parents whether they wanted to keep on fighting for their son’s life. Their baby’s body was sustaining a lot of damage at this point.
The doctors asked five times if they wanted to switch off Jibreel’s life support. Instead of giving up, Dib and her partner begged the doctors to do everything they could to save their son.
Counselors even tried approaching the parents to prepare them for the worst. Dib never listened to them, refusing to believe that her son would eventually die. One night, a doctor called Dib to say Jibreel flatlined. They resuscitated him, and he returned to a stable condition.
Despite the medical staff’s constant and distressing persistence that the mom should let her baby pass on, Dib is eternally grateful to them for healing her son. Now, the boy is a healthy four-year-old who is thriving.
How Does the Boy Look Now?
Months after being released from the hospital, Jibreel was diagnosed with cerebral palsy after a brain bleed in the NICU. Despite this, he’s reached several milestones, and his parents are determined for him to “grow his strength.”
Ultimately, Dib hopes Jibreel’s story will inspire parents with sick babies fighting for their lives in the NICU. “I want all parents to know this,” mom Nicole Dib said while sharing her experience of fighting for her child’s life. She asks them not to give up, not to lose hope, and to give their kids a fighting chance:
“It’s very scary, but these tiny little humans are stronger than we think.”
Dib asks parents struggling with their babies’ recoveries to seek support from the available networks and resources. She concluded that despite all the doubts in her head, she was glad she stuck through the situation and kept pushing.
