Baby Born Prematurely at 1.3 Lbs. Goes Home from the NICU for the First Time: ‘The Day We’ve Been Waiting for’

An 18-month-old girl is leaving the hospital for the very first time — just in time to celebrate her first Thanksgiving at home with her family.

Leah Hope Montayes Macias has spent her entire life in medical care at three different hospitals. Born at just 24 weeks of gestation, she’s been treated for multiple complications linked to her premature birth, Good Morning America reported. But on Thursday, Nov. 20, after a year and a half of hospital stays, her family received the news they’d been dreaming of: Leah is well enough to go home.

Footage shared by GMA captured the emotional moment at Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, New York. As Leah was wheeled through the halls on a gurney, her parents — Stephanie Macias and Andy Montayes — walked alongside her while staff lined the corridor, cheering and applauding her long-awaited departure.

Macias and Montayes beamed as they followed their daughter toward the exit. Even Leah seemed to sense the celebration, her mom said.

“When she came here, she was all tensed up, wouldn’t move. And now, she’s dancing,” Macias told GMA. “It’s just amazing to see … she pushed through everything and she showed us what strength really is.”

Now the family is starting a new chapter: helping Leah settle into life at home.

In a post on Babylist — where the couple shared a registry of items to support Leah’s transition — they reflected on the moment with heartfelt gratitude.

“Leah’s journey has been extraordinary,” they wrote. “She has fought through every challenge with a strength far greater than her tiny body, teaching us what courage, resilience, and faith truly look like. She is our miracle, our light, and our reminder that hope always rises.”

During her 18 months in hospitals, Leah received treatment for a brain bleed, pulmonary hypertension, chronic lung disease, and patent ductus arteriosus — a heart defect that affects blood pressure and blood flow between the heart and lungs.

When Leah arrived at Blythedale last November, she was “pretty sick,” Dr. M. Susan LaTuga, one of her doctors, told GMA. But Leah — whom LaTuga described as having a “sparkly” personality — steadily responded to care and is now “thriving.”

“It feels amazing,” Macias said. “She has shown us how resilient she is, and this is the day we’ve just been waiting for — to bring her home.”