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Premature baby born 24 weeks early heads home after 147 days at hospital: ‘Defied all odds’

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Published June 20, 2024
Updated June 20, 2024, 6:11 p.m. ET

A premature baby who was delivered 24 weeks early and weighed less than two pounds was finally sent home Wednesday after spending nearly five months in a neonatal intensive care unit on Long Island.

Little Shyne Graham “defied all odds” when she was born via emergency c-section at NYU Langone Hospital on Jan. 24, weighing just one pound and 11 ounces, according to a nurse and her mother.

“I feel completely relieved having her home,” proud mama Phaebe Turner told The Post Thursday. “I didn’t sleep last night — I was just looking at her, thinking, ‘Is it really real that she’s finally here?'”

Phaebe Turner brought her daughter Shyne home from the hospital after she was born 24 weeks early.
Phaebe Turner brought her daughter Shyne home from the hospital after she was born 24 weeks early. NYU Langone Staff
Little Shyne was born a mere one pound and 11 ounces, and was forced to spend more than 20 weeks in the hospital, the hospital said.
Little Shyne was born a mere one pound and 11 ounces and was forced to spend more than 20 weeks in the hospital. ABC NY7
A premature baby who was delivered 24 weeks early and weighed less than two pounds was finally sent home Wednesday after spending 147 days in the neonatal intensive care unit on Long Island.
During her stay, Shyne had to breathe through a tube and battle three infections, including strep throat and E. coli. Courtesy of Phaebe Turner

Shyne’s touching saga began when Turner suddenly began bleeding and contracting for unclear reasons in January.

“I remember waking up from surgery in a fog, and people were saying, ‘Congratulations.’ I said, ‘For what?’” Turner recalled.  “I was shell shocked.”

She soon learned she’d given birth, but that she wouldn’t be able to hold her teeny bundle of joy for months.

A premature baby who was delivered 24 weeks early and weighed less than two pounds was finally sent home Wednesday after spending 147 days in the neonatal intensive care unit on Long Island.
But the pint-sized fighter eventually cleared the illnesses and has now grown to 10 pounds, the size of a “a chubby 1-month-old,” she said.  Courtesy of Phaebe Turner
The newborn’s mother, Phaebe Turner said she couldn’t hold her baby for two months.
The newborn’s mother, Phaebe Turner said she couldn’t hold her baby for two months. ABC NY7

“It was hard,” she said. “I’d cry in the car or I’d cry in the bathroom [at the NICU] but not by her side.”

During her stay, Shyne had to breathe through a tube and battle three infections, including strep throat and E. coli.

“She was so small. Her hand was the size of my thumb,” Turner said.

During her stay, Shyne had to breathe through a tube and had to overcome three infections, including strep throat and E. coli.
During her stay, Shyne had to breathe through a tube and had to overcome three infections, including strep throat and E. coli. ABC NY7

But the pint-sized fighter eventually cleared the illnesses and has now grown to 10 pounds, the size of a “a chubby 1-month-old,” she said. 

“She had a rough time in the beginning,” Turner said. “But now she’s fine. Shyne is fine.”

On Wednesday,  NICU nurse manager LaShon Pitter helped set up a heartwarming graduation for the miracle baby and her family.

The hospital staff played graduation favorite "Pomp and Circumstance" in a hospital as Shyne was pushed out the front doors in her stroller surrounded by doctors and nurses.
The hospital staff played graduation favorite “Pomp and Circumstance” as Shyne was pushed out the front doors in her stroller surrounded by doctors and nurses. ABC NY7

“We are excited just as much as they are that the baby is going home,” Pitter told PIX 11.

During the ceremony, hospital staff played graduation favorite “Pomp and Circumstance” in a hospital as Shyne was pushed out the front doors in her stroller surrounded by doctors and nurses.

“It was blood, sweat and tears making sure she was OK,” Pitter said, according to PIX 11. “Making sure she would survive whatever situation she was going through.”

“I can’t begin to express how I feel right now,” Turner said. “I’m just happy. Today’s a great day.”

Along with spending time with her daughter, she plans to help host an event, dubbed SheWellness, on Sept. 15 to encourage women to advocate for themselves in healthcare settings.