Chastity is grateful every day for the tiniest miracle—her baby boy!

When a baby comes into the world too soon—as one in eight American babies does—not only does he struggle, but so do the ones who love him. New mom Chastity Sinipata feared her tiny newborn might never grow up. But today, Leni is proof that nothing is impossible . . .

Flipping through a book about pregnancy, Chastity Sinipata, 22 weeks along, marked her page, then made her way to the bathroom . . . again.

Everything about welcoming her new baby excited the 20-year-old Sacramento single mom. The frequent bathroom trips didn’t even bother her. But now, without warning, Chastity felt something . . . different.

Is this—my water breaking? she wondered. And barely a minute later, there was Chastity’s baby, squirming in the palm of her hand!

“Mom!” she cried out, numb with shock and horrified as her incredibly tiny newborn stopped moving, then turned purple.

Oh, baby boy, please don’t die. Please, please don’t leave me! Chastity panicked.

Love in a tiny package Chastity’s

mom immediately dialed 911, and within minutes, paramedics from the Sacramento Fire Department arrived, cutting the umbilical cord and wrapping baby Leni in a warming blanket. “Tell me. Is he going to live? And please don’t sugarcoat it. Don’t lie to me,” Chastity choked through tears.

The EMT hesitated, then taking a deep breath, he said, “This is very rough. I’d say he has about a five percent chance.”

Simply arriving at Sutter Medical Center’s NICU alive was Leni’s first miracle. But even surrounded by state-ofthe-art technology, Leni’s outlook remained grim. A mere one pound, 4.5 ounces, he was one of the smallest preemies the hospital had ever seen.

Looking at Leni’s impossibly miniature fists and feet, at his nearly translucent skin, Chastity knew he didn’t look like a healthy baby. But she also knew she’d never felt so much love.

“I need you to be straightforward,” Chastity begged neonatologist Chiwan Kim, M.D. Just like the paramedic, Dr. Kim was reluctant to answer. Every new mom deserves hope, she believed. Yet the reality was, born more than four months early, the odds were against Leni.

“We have to take it day by day. It might take another miracle for Leni to make it through the week. But be strong. Strong for him,” Dr. Kim said.

It seemed unfathomable to Chastity: How could I lose you when I just met you? she wept. She hadn’t even had the chance to kiss him, much less read him a story, play catch in the park, everything she had dreamed.

As Chastity sat beside Leni’s isolette, unable to hold her baby to her heart, the hours ticked by achingly slowly.

But by morning, Leni was still breathing with only a single ventilator, when many “micropreemies” require two.

“Mama’s here. And you’re going to be okay. I just know it!” Chastity whispered over and over.

The tiniest fighter That

first week did pass. And as the days and nights continued, Leni hung on, despite surviving one crisis after another. While it was a victory to be switched from a respirator to just nasal CPAP— a breathing assistance mask—leni also had to undergo a procedure for retinal detachment, a condition common in preemies, and hernia repair surgery.

Even after suffering a brain bleed, Leni continued to gain weight and grow stronger.

After three months, Chastity was finally able to hold Leni.

“You are so perfect, my little fighter!” she murmured.

Leni kept improving and finally, more than four months after his astonishing entrance into the world— and about a week after his original due date— Leni, then six-and-half pounds, was released!

Today, Leni weighs more than nine pounds. And though he still requires some oxygen and checkups to monitor his progress, he has already defied predictions and expectations.

“Leni is a special and resilient boy, and I’m confident his future is bright,” says Sutter NICU medical director Gustavo Sosa, M.D. At that, Chastity smiles. “It’s true. Leni may be small, but he has the heart of a fighter. And I will always be there, encouraging, supporting and loving my beautiful miracle boy!”

— Marti Attoun