Are you about ready for a positive story?
The background — I got an iPod several years ago to listen to when I run. I do have a modest music library, but mostly I listen to podcasts. One of my favorites is NPR’s “Radiolab”, which produces shows “about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience.” (http://www.radiolab.org/)
On March 23rd of this year they broadcast a remarkable story entitled “23 Weeks, 6 Days”. It was actually an update of a story they’d told two years earlier about a premature baby who had been born (you guessed it) at 23 weeks and 6 days — roughly halfway to full term. At that time, about four years ago, babies born that early were not expected to survive. But as you might deduce from the update part, the original story had a happy ending. But getting there was a miracle of determination by a very small body, not to mention all the medical and moral questions raised along the way.
This journey from the edge of viability has also led to a book written by her parents, both who happen to be journalists. Entitled Juniper: The Girl Who Was Born Too Soon, it’s now availa
ble (photo from Amazon.com).
So if anyone is looking for an uplifting story, this is a good one.
The podcast can be found at http://www.radiolab.org/story/update-23-weeks-6-days/