“Big things have small beginnings.” – T.E. Lawrence

Sometimes a pregnancy just doesn’t go as planned.

For one New York couple, they learned that becoming parents would not go the traditional route they had hoped for. Instead, their little boy would make his appearance 16 weeks early.

Born at 24 weeks, and weighing only 1lb, 2oz, Greyson Butler was rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).  The tiniest of premature babies, newborns born before 28 weeks are considered micro-preemies.

Sixteen months after his birth, Greyson did something so few expected those first few days of his life – he went home.

Greyson Butler smiles in his crib. Photo by CBS News New York

“A lot of sleepless nights, a lot of tears, a lot of prayers, a lot of cries,” his mother, Monae Harper, said, adding that he is living proof of the power of miracles.

Overall, a lot of smiles because my son is here right now. He’s a miracle baby.”

Harper and Greyson’s father, Jeffrey Butler, were over the moon about finally bringing home their son.

The baby, they said, had only been given a 20 percent chance of surviving. He was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and chronic lung disease, common amongst micro-preemies. Their lungs didn’t have the time to develop properly like full-term baby’s would.

Greyson required 15 blood transfusions while he was in the NICU. He spent his time in more than five different hospitals, where he battled pneumonia multiple times, and also had two surgeries.

“I was instantly worried,” Harper said about Greyson’s birth. “So, for a lot of days I was thinking my son was going home, but then another situation happened. We were so scared. He looked like he would break. He was so delicate.”

NICU nurses will often tell parents that their time in the NICU will be like a roller coaster – some days will be up and others you will plummet down.

“When they say roller coaster, they mean it,” Harper said. “Many days are so good, but a lot of days are stomach crunching and you can’t even hold your head up.”

I knew it was a long roller coaster, but I didn’t know it was going to be this long.”

But Greyson, who now weighs 20 lbs, beat all the odds that were stacked against him. Doctors told the parents that they weren’t concerned about any neurological issues with him, either.

Greyson Butler is wheeled out of the hospital with his parents by his side. Photo by CBS News New York

“I come in the morning and I know he’s okay because if I tickle him, he rolls around laughing and he throws a towel over his head,” Dr. Dennis Davidson said.

Greyson will go home on a ventilator and tracheostomy, which his parents have been trained on how to take care of.

Greyson’s dad couldn’t help but be proud of all his son has overcome.

“When kids start walking, he might be a little delayed. But he’s perfectly fine with me. He’s smart, sense of humor,” Butler said.

He added, “I think it’s a story of a miracle. He never stopped fighting. There’s a lot of situations I’ve been through that I wanted to just throw in the towel and I’m like if he could — he’s here every day, he never stops fighting — then what am I gonna stop fighting for?”

Watch the story about this tiny miracle, below.

Sources: The Mirror | People