Harrison

Born premature at 23 weeks and four days, and weighing nearly a pound and a half, the odds were stacked against Harrison from the moment he entered the world.

“The pregnancy was rough from the start,” says Josie, Harrison’s mom. “When we ended up in the emergency room the night Harrison was born, we knew this visit was different.”

During the first ten weeks of Josie’s pregnancy, while also caring for her toddler Hazel, she visited the hospital ten times due to subchorionic hematoma, a small pocket of blood that forms inside the womb next to the baby.

Josie and her partner Braden had already faced three devastating losses in starting their family. Their first child passed at full term, due to a neural tube defect called anencephaly. They also lost twins at 17 weeks gestation and were very worried about Harrison.

In May of 2025 Josie went to the hospital, knowing something wasn’t quite right, and was quickly taken to the operating room where she gave birth to Harrison by emergency C-section.

Harrison stayed at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at HSC Children’s Hospital for a total of 133 days and needed a machine to help him breathe for 80 of those days as well as eight blood transfusions, countless medical tests and treatment for a severe inguinal hernia, a tear in the muscle that lets tissue slip through.

“Our hearts will forever hold a special place for every single staff member who stepped into Harrison’s room during his time in hospital,” says Josie.

Josie and Braden are deeply grateful to the health care teams at Manitoba’s only children’s hospital for helping Harrison as he healed. From the very first day the family arrived in the NICU, they made them feel welcome and listened carefully to their concerns. Nurses advocated for them in moments they couldn’t be there and treated their extended family with the same care.

After a tough few months in hospital, Harrison and his family all went home together on Thanksgiving weekend of 2025.

“We always knew that he was cared for in such a kind way,” says Josie. “As happy as we were to leave once Harrison was discharged, it felt like we were saying goodbye to family.”

Josie and Braden nicknamed Harrison ‘Sonny’ for his happy-go-lucky and carefree nature. Harrison loves listening to music, going on walks and swings, and spending time with his older sister, Hazel.

About a year after he left the hospital, Harrison has shown great progress and no longer needed his medications. He will continue to visit HSC Children’s for continued care as he grows, including visits for his vision.

“Today we have extra joy in our house because Harrison is alive, and that’s because of the hard work and dedication of the staff at HSC Children’s,” says Josie.

To help clinicians better care for other babies born prematurely, Harrison’s family also allowed his case to be part of a study to help scientists better understand the concentration of oxygen needed to resuscitate extremely pre-term infants.

Thanks to donors like you, investigators at Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba can continue turning life-saving research into real-world treatments for kids like Harrison.

At Children’s Hospital Foundation of Manitoba, we celebrate the strength and bravery of premature babies and the incredible health care teams that help give them the chance to thrive.

Give today at goodbear.ca/donate.