‘It’s really a miracle’: Child who spent his first 1,000 days of life in a hospital goes home

CHICAGO (CBS) — Check out this kid’s smile!

Who could blame the boy for being so happy? He’s going home from the hospital for the first time ever! And he got quite the send off Tuesday, after spending the 1,000 days or so of his life in the hospital.

CBS 2’s Shardaa Gray takes us to La Rabida Hospital.

Francesco Bruno will be three in December. He has seen nothing but hospital walls his whole life, relying on a ventilator to breathe and tubes that help him eat.

But on Tuesday, that all changed.

“We’re very happy, nervous, tense, scared, overwhelmed, really happy, overjoyed. It’s just a melting pot of emotions,” said Francesco’s father Emanuele Bruno.

The boy has a life-threatening genetic condition that affects his bones and muscles. Francesco was diagnosed with a rare form of skeletal dysplasia that specifically impacts his ribs, making it difficult for his lungs to grow properly.

But his parents said he’s a fighter.

“When they told us he was going to be born, he was only going to live for 30 minutes. It’s really a miracle he’s with us today,” said his mother Priscilla Bruno.

Francesco has been to four different hospitals in three different states. Today, he gets to go home and be with his family. It’s not only emotional for his parents, but for the staff at La Rabida Hospital as well.

Taking Francesco home won’t be without challenges, but hospital staff said he is getting stronger every day, and his parents took classes and are trained to handle his many needs.

“The day that he first got admitted, those conversations were starting to happen between our case management and our nursing team to get them ready and prepared,” said Olivia Hayes, the La Rabida charge nurse.

“We’re going to do this one day at a time, like we’ve been doing until now,” said Emanuele Bruno.