Miracle baby honored at Dayton Children’s holiday tree lighting

Dayton Children’s Hospital hosted its second annual holiday tree lighting Monday morning.

One-year-old Ryan, who spent several weeks in the NICU after he was born prematurely, got the honor of lighting the tree this year.

Miracle baby Ryan was born after his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, went through 16 rounds of chemotherapy and was told she’d never have children.

He was brought to Dayton Children’s at five-days-old for emergency surgery on a type of bowel obstruction that resembles cystic fibrosis, but his test results came back negative.

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Ryan’s mother told us about how special today is for families and how having a tree can help young patients.

“It’s amazing what they have and the capabilities of what they have at Dayton Children’s for them to save a three-week-old baby it’s amazing, it was a great atmosphere, it was a home away from home for three weeks,” she said. “During this sad time, they really try to up lift your spirits. They give you care packages to get food or whatever. They’re always asking what they can do for you.”

After the tree lighting, kids gathered around for a holiday sing-along led by Dayton Children’s music therapist.

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