At 26 weeks – 3 months premature, Walker Pruett entered the world at 1lb 3oz.
He was so fragile, that his parents were not able to hold him for the first 5 days of his life. Walter’s parents watched hopefully as their son grew stronger – and the transformation – captured in the video above, is touching, hopeful and nothing short of miraculous.
Created by a team of volunteer photographers, the video is part of the Capturing Hopes Photography’s “Project 100 Days.” The series documents the transformation of premature babies in neonatal intensive care unit.
Founder of the group heading the project, Deneen Bryan lost her own daughter, Christina at just 6 months old in 1998. She was inspired by a volunteer photography who gave her pictures of her daughter’s hospital stay. Bryan explains:
After she passed away, we got the photos in the mail. That’s when I really realized how important those photos were. That was our only professional photo that we had of our family at the time.
The American Mid-West native, a professional photographer herself, began taking photos for Ronald McDonald families before focusing on premature babies. She explained how this section of families were under-served in this area:
They didn’t have anyone coming in. The baby was only one to two pounds and mom and dad didn’t have any photos except cellphone shots.
Bryan explains the importance of her service to the families:
The parents were dressed up, makeup and hair done. It was giving the families something to look forward to every two weeks.
She explains how difficult the process can be:
A baby could code right there while you’re there. … [You] have to be professional but compassionate. They need you to be together. I have had a couple of volunteers where you could see a tear and they just kind of turned to wipe it away. It really affects volunteers the first time they’re in.
Walker Pruett was the first baby to be documented in the Project 100 Days series. He was, however, photographed for only 80 days before his parents were allowed to take him home.
Today he weighs more than 5 pounds – and his amazing transformation has been capture in a touching time-lapse video.
On her blog, Walker’s mom called the video a “great gift.” She adds:
It is really amazing to watch him grow.
You can check out more pictures from Capture Hope on their Facebook page.
