Lily Grace Boyce Came Early And Is Now A Teenaged Joy

Mark and Lorrie Boyce had waited 12 long years to become parents. You can imagine how thrilled they were when they got the news their dream would be a reality!  The magic due date was October 26th. But during a Fourth of July get-away to Gaylord, that dream turned into a nightmare.  Lorrie started having complications and the doctor at the hospital in Gaylord said if the baby was born right then, it would have a 5% chance of survival and a 0% chance of being normal.

The decision was made to airlift Lorrie to Hurley. Mark would make the long lonely two hour drive back to Flint. They’d never had any prior experience with Hurley but, all of a sudden, their entire future rested in the hands of total strangers.

Dr. Raymond Chan helped to ease some of their fears. He told them that by coming to Hurley – the area’s only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – the baby’s chances of survival went from 5% in Gaylord to 25% at Hurley. On July 7, 2002 Lily Grace Boyce was born … four months early, weighing just two pounds!

The NICU team was ready to respond to the host of medical complications facing this fragile little life.  She struggled with breathing and blood pressure problems. She was experiencing reflux. An e-coli infection from the beginning should have killed her…but she beat it!  With Lily, it was just one miracle after another.

Lily made steady progress amidst some setbacks and on October 5, 2002 the big moment finally arrived. Lily Grace went home … three weeks before her due date.

Today, Lily is a healthy, active 15 year old. She plays volleyball, is an A student and is working her very first job! Lily’s mom says even as a teenager, Lily is an absolute joy.