Ariana Gutierrez is a tiny little fighter.
She is the smallest baby born at Anne Arundel Medical Center's (AMMC) Level III NICU and Thursday, she was able to go home with her parents.
When she was born four months ago, Ariana was only12.4 oz. To put that into perspective, her size was equivalent to two sticks of butter.
Medical staff worked around the clock to care for the extreme preemie while her parents, Claudia and Oscar, prayed by her bed side.
"The real challenge with her is that she was so small," said Sucanne Rindfleisch, director of AMMC's Level III NICU. "She was about a third of the size she should have been. Everything had to be so precise."
After some time, Ariana started to breathe on her own. Her health got better and doctors gave the okay to send this little fighter home with her parents.
"We're so proud of how she's done and she's going to be a real beautiful little girl," Rindfleisch said.
