Parents Forced to Leave Miracle Preemie Who Died in Arms at NICU, Then Cops Show Up

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Melissa and Adam Winch’s baby boy Axel was born at just 29 weeks with many genetic issues. The parents thought they needed a miracle for the child to survive, especially when their hometown of Grand Junction, Colorado didn’t have the equipment to care for him.

“Axle weighed two pounds 12 ounces when he was born. We were told he might not make it. It was totally devastating as a parent to be told your son might not live,” Axel’s father Adam told the BBC. A week later, little Axel was airlifted to Children’s Hospital Colorado with his mother, to be treated in the NICU, some 300 miles away from his home.

His parents stayed with their baby for months in Aurora, where Axel is said to have been resuscitated on a number of occasions by nurses. “Axle was resuscitated multiple times. I was holding him at one point and he stopped breathing. My son died in my arms,” Adam said.

 

After a few months it was time for Adam and Melissa to return to work, however, they were devastated to have to leave their fragile little boy alone. Melissa said “I cried not all the way home, but majority of the way home. It’s terrible;” with Adam adding that “It broke our hearts that we had to leave.”

Melissa is a police officer and her colleagues contacted the local police department in Aurora, explaining the family’s situation. “We were in a city where we didn’t know anyone, but the local cops started showing up to check in on us,” Adam revealed, adding that the police department raised money and opened their homes to the family.

However, when the parents had to return to work the Aurora police Department really stepped up. They set up a “cuddle club” and had officers sign up to go and visit Axel. Sgt. Mike Pitrusu of Aurora PD’s Employee Support and Wellness unit, who set up the “cuddle club”, said “I didn’t want him to be alone.”

Adam has said the officers partaking in cuddle club brought him huge comfort, adding “I remember talking to an officer working in child protection. She told me that her soul was heavy from dealing with the most terrible things because of her job. She said that the cuddle club might have been good for Axle, but it healed her too.”

After almost five months in hospital, Axel was well enough to come home. “He is home and doing great. He’s a happy little kid most of the time,” Adam gushed, however, he joked that his son is so used to being cuddled that he wants to be held all the time, something his parents are more than happy to do after so many months of uncertainty.

Baby Axel still has a long way to go, but his parents are so grateful to everyone who helped them along the way. In a Facebook post after the brought their baby home, Adam said “Axel is home. We are so blessed and thankful beyond expression.”

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