Baby Born at 23 Weeks at Jackson Memorial Hospital Makes Remarkable Recovery. More Than One Year Later, He’s Thriving

By: Krysten Brenlla

Growing up in a small town in Arkansas, Candace Ashcraft, 35, always dreamed of becoming a mother. She knew she wanted a family with her husband, Kyle, but the journey to parenthood proved far more difficult than they expected.

After being diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common hormonal and metabolic disorder that causes irregular periods and small cysts on the ovaries, Candace knew it might take time.

“With PCOS, you don’t ovulate correctly, so I knew when it became time to start a family, it might be difficult,” she said.

Candace never gave up on becoming a mom, even through countless medications, multiple rounds of fertility treatments, and emotional ups and downs.

“It took us 10 years, but it was so worth it,” she said. “I was determined. I didn’t care what it took. I was going to have my baby.”

On their 10-year anniversary, Candace and Kyle finally received the news they were hoping for: she was pregnant.

But just as her dream became reality, Candace battled yet another challenge.

While on a trip to the Florida Keys with her mother, sister, and aunt, Candace suddenly began to feel sick, and it quickly escalated into an emergency.

At just 23 weeks and six days pregnant, Candace was rushed to The Women’s Hospital at Jackson Memorial for emergency care. Within hours of arriving at the hospital, she underwent an emergency C-section.

On March 6, 2025, her son, John Tray, was born – just one day away from being viable for survival in the NICU – weighing a little more than a pound.

“If you go through the pictures on my phone, you’ll see the pool, the beach, key lime pie – and then the baby being intubated,” she said. “It was the scariest moment of my life. He could fit in your hand.”

John Tray was immediately admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Holtz Children’s Hospital, where Candace spent months at his side.

“You don’t know anything about the NICU until you have a baby that needs to be there,” she said. “Every day was hard, especially with a 23-weeker.”

John Tray faced a lot of medical challenges, including time on a ventilator, feeding through a special IV, and other complications common for very premature babies.

But through it all, John Tray fought for his life – and Candace found strength in the care team around her.

“When John Tray first arrived in the NICU, he was very sick,” said Jaqueline Couceiro, a NICU nurse at Holtz Children’s. “I was privileged to be his lead nurse, and I witnessed so many of his milestones – I was the first to put on his clothes, I witnessed his first bottle, and so many other firsts alongside Candace and her entire family.”

Every day, John Tray grew bigger and healthier. Over time, the NICU team helped Candace and Kyle through so many milestones: their first kangaroo care session, or skin-to-skin contact with the baby outside of the incubator; the removal of his feeding tube; and the most defining moment: breathing completely on his own.

“Just seeing my baby with nothing on his face, breathing on his own, thriving – it was amazing,” Candace said.

“It’s just amazing what you take for granted.”

“It’s really a multidisciplinary approach with the NICU team and the doctors,” Couceiro said. “We really work together to make sure all of our babies grow, develop, and continue to thrive in the NICU. And developing those close relationships with our babies and their families makes it all the more special when you see how far they’ve come.”

After spending 118 days in the NICU, John Tray was ready to go home.

“The doctors, fellows, residents, and nurses all became like family,” Candace said. “The entire team really included you and made you feel like you were still the baby’s mom, even though the baby needed a lot of clinical care. I was so excited to change his diaper or just feed him – they taught me everything.”

Despite the hardships, Candace held tightly to her faith.

“I remember sitting in the room after I had him and just saying, ‘God, I can’t handle this. You’re going to have to help me,’” she said. “So I just took it one day at a time.”

Today, nearly a year later, John Tray is thriving – he’s hitting new milestones, full of personality, and defying expectations.

“He’s done amazing,” Candace said. “People can’t believe it when I tell them he was born at 23 weeks. He truly is a miracle, and he wouldn’t be here without the teams at Jackson.”