Baby Nyla heads home after defying odds at Silver Cross Hospital

NEW LENOX, Ill. - It was a momentous day for a local family!

On Monday, Nakeya and Cory Haywood headed home with their daughter, one of the youngest ever micro-preemie babies born at Silver Cross Hospital.

Nyla Brooke Haywood was born on Nov. 17 at a mere 22 weeks and three days. She weighed just one pound and one ounce, the same as a can of soup. She arrived with her eyes fused shut, underdeveloped lungs and skin so delicate it was nearly translucent.

Nyla spent six months in the NICU, where the hospital staff dubbed her a miracle baby.

As she departed with her parents on Wednesday, hospital staff honored her with a sendoff parade, wishing her a lifetime of good health.

Nakeya and Cory Haywood are first-time parents and said it's been a long road to get to this point.

"I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia [at] 22 weeks, and from there, things just didn't necessarily get better. And we had to make that tough decision that we had to deliver her. That was pretty much the beginning of the story," said Nyla's mother, Nakeya.

Nyla is going home with oxygen. But her lungs are expected to grow normal and strong. When leaving Silver Cross, she weighed 9.8 pounds and was 21 inches long.