A group of siblings couldn’t hide their delight when their mom broke the news their brother was set to come home from the NICU after more than 200 days.
Mandy and Kyle Gillespie, from Arlington, Tennessee, welcomed their baby son, Walker, prematurely at 35 weeks and three days.
Doctors diagnosed him with gastroparesis, a condition that slowly stopped the movement of food from the stomach to the small intestine, and over the months that followed, Walker required multiple surgeries.
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Mandy said this period was tough for siblings Presley, 10, Faith, eight, and Will, five, and despite trying to stay strong, she admitted to crying in her oldest daughter’s arms at the strain.
But Walker never gave up – and when Mandy got the news they could finally take their son home after 224 days in the NICU, she couldn’t wait to tell her kids.
In an inspiring moment captured on video, Presley, Faith and Will raised their arms in delight when their mom broke the news to them.
And then, on Day 227, Walker was discharged from the NICU and taken home, where he was greeted by his excitable siblings, who showered him with love.
Walker still has some unexplained symptoms, Mandy said, and the family are now looking for answers at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Since Walker has been home, though, his siblings have loved caring for him and working around his cords and wires.
Mandy said: “The kids were jumping up and down with excitement.
“The fact that they were so happy after all we had been through as a family meant the world to me as a mom.
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“The day Walker came home was one of my life’s most emotional and best days.
“Walker had never known anytime else outside those four walls of his hospital room.
“So, to finally be able to bring him to his actual home after seven long, hard months was so magical.
“If I had to give advice to any other NICU moms, it would be to remember that your homecoming day is coming.
“Put one foot in front of the other and never stop fighting for your baby.”