After eighteen months, the parents of a baby who was born weighing only 11 oz (328 g) and was kept secure in a sandwich bag are finally able to bring her home for the first time.
Robyn arrived to Grange Hospital in Cwmbran, Torfaen, in March 2023, five months ahead of schedule, and she still requires 24-hour care.
Her Malpas, Newport, parents, Chantelle, 34, and Daniel, 38, are raising money for her medical care.
"Having Robyn home is like a dream come true," her mother remarked.
When Robyn was born, her essential organs were kept warm in a sandwich bag since she was so small that she could fit in the palm of a hand at 23 weeks and 2 days.
Robyn was admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit at Noah's Ark Children's Hospital in Cardiff six months after her birth, where she remained for seven months until her discharge in September. Robyn then returned to Grange.
Chantelle, a part-time accountant, said, "It's just so nice to just do normal family things... and just be together under one roof."
"It's definitely less chaotic at home," said Daniel, a mason by trade who had to take time off from his job to take care of his daughter.
Robyn receives nourishment and oxygen via tubes in her mouth and nose, her vital signs are constantly watched, and she gets 30 doses of medication every day.
"She can't cough so we have to suction her mouth and her nose when she needs it through-out the day," her mother stated.
She was thriving, according to Daniel, and loving the "peace" of her house.
"Obviously we do a lot of physio with her and interact doing sensory play," he stated.
In a large, open hospital ward with nurses and physicians coming and going all hours of the day, Chantelle claimed it was difficult to build a bond with her daughter.
She remarked, "All you can do is sit next to her and watch," continuing to focus on the figures on the screen in the hopes that she would survive.
"We didn't know if Robyn would survive when she was born.
"As time went on she was getting bigger and stronger, but there was still a lot of problems that she was having, and it became quite clear that her brain damage was going to have quite a profound effect on her."
"We are aware that nothing is impossible," Daniel remarked. "We were unaware of her brain damage until approximately half a year after her birth."
"You've got all these sort of plans in your head, of how life's gonna be and then they sort of get all thrown away," he explained.
"But we make an effort to be upbeat.
We are aware that Robyn is capable of anything since despite numerous assurances that she wouldn't be able to accomplish this or survive, she succeeds.
"She's an open book and I think she'll write her own history."
