Viewers have been moved to tears by an touching encounter between a father and his newborn kid that was captured on camera.
In the popular video, Daniel Johnson can be seen singing the Elevation Worship hymn “Hallelujah Here Below” while holding his premature son Remington Hayze in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Amazingly, Remington’s tiny hand elevates as soon as Johnson starts singing a chorus of “hallelujahs,” as if he were taken away by the melody. When Johnson notices this, he is immediately filled with emotion and is unable to complete the song.
@fritojohnson89 Remington Hayze Johnson. Proof that God is faithful. Born 4 months early and given a 21% chance of survival. Today we are 2 1/2 months old giving God all the praise He deserves. #worship #nicu #nicubaby #dadsinging #elevationworship ♬ original sound – Daniel Johnson
Little Remington was born four months early and was given a 21% chance of surviving, according to the caption of the video. On the day the video was posted, he turned 2 and a half months old.
Remington was born prematurely at 22 weeks, and Emily, Daniel’s wife, who captured the video, told Good Morning America that since then, baby has undergone “variety of treatments for his underdeveloped organs, including steroids for his lungs and shots for his eyes.”
The NICU staff at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple, Texas, has been largely responsible for Remington’s dramatic improvement over the past few months. His use of a CPAP machine is gradually being weaned off, and he is no longer using any drugs.
This encouraging information is in line with a previous Stanford Medicine study that shown a notable improvement in survival rates for preemies born at Remington’s gestational age (22 weeks) who received active therapy. The survival rate was up to 55% for babies born at 23 weeks.
Even with the assistance of committed specialists, a parent going through this must nevertheless find it to be a terrifying experience. The Johnsons’ one saving grace was witnessing their son’s innocent response to his father’s voice.
“It’s been an emotional ride and…the video definitely showed how I felt because he’s a miracle baby in every sense of the word,” Daniel said GMA.