After losing their child five days after he was born, a Chicago couple was delighted to welcome another baby boy. However, their worst nightmare began when the doctors told them he had only 30 minutes to live.
Priscilla and Emanuele Bruno lived with their six children in their Chicago, Illinois, home. The couple provided their children with the best of everything and planned to have more babies.
The Bruno family was delighted to discover they were pregnant with a baby boy. They couldn’t wait to hold their seventh baby in their arms, unaware that he would leave this world days after his birth.
The couple’s seventh baby, Giovanni, was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Skeletal Dysplasia, which affected his quality of life. Unfortunately, the little boy only lived for five days.
Priscilla and Emanuele were devastated after losing their seventh baby. Never in a million years had they imagined watching their days-old baby pass away, but they felt helpless against fate’s plans.
After losing their little boy, Priscilla and Emanuele got pregnant again. They had been yearning to hear the news of their pregnancy, but they had no idea that their baby would be born with the same rare condition.
Priscilla and Emanuele welcomed their son, Francesco Bruno, into this world in December 2019. Once again, they were excited to hold their baby in their arms, but the doctors told them something that turned their world upside down.
They moved him from one hospital to another, unaware of how much time he had left in this world.
“[The doctors] told us [when] he was going to be born, he was only going to live for 30 minutes,” Priscilla told CBS News. The Bruno family wasn’t ready to lose another baby boy because of the same genetic disorder.
It was heartbreaking for Priscilla and Emanuele to watch their baby boy in pain. His condition made it difficult for him to breathe independently, so the doctors put him on a ventilator. His chances of survival were poor, but the little boy didn’t give up.
Francesco defied all odds and lived longer than the doctors had predicted. Since he had the same condition as Giovanni, his parents were prepared for the worst. Emanuele said:
“We were very aware that his passing was something very possible.”
As days passed, the Bruno family saw their little one fight. They moved him from one hospital to another, unaware of how much time he had left in this world.
In March 2021, little Francesco was moved to La Rabida Children’s Hospital, where he stayed until October 2022. The doctors ensured he was treated in the best way possible while his parents prayed they wouldn’t have to lose another baby. Emanuele said:
“We are people who have always looked for the help of God in our life.”
Little Francesco spent about 1000 days of his life in multiple hospitals before the doctors at La Rabida allowed him to go home. The two-year-old boy had no idea there was a whole world outside hospitals.
Meanwhile, his six siblings couldn’t wait to spend time with him at home. They wanted to hold him in their arms and play with him. Before Francesco came home for the first time in his life, the hospital staff trained his parents on how to look after him.
“We’re overjoyed and very, very happy and ready to start a new chapter, new adventure,” Priscilla said. She and her husband had never imagined they would finally be able to take their baby home one day.
On October 11, 2022, little Francesco headed home with his parents. It was the first time he stepped out of a hospital to go home instead of being wheeled into another hospital. The little boy had entered a new phase of his life.
Emanuele confessed feeling a mix of emotions while taking his baby boy back home. He felt “happy, nervous, tense, scared, overwhelmed” all at the same time.
“It’s really a miracle he’s with us today,” Priscilla
said. She and Emanuele believed it was the doctors’ hard work and their prayers that paid off. They had never thought their son would be able to go home.
Since the hospital staff had spent three years with Francesco, they had tears in their eyes when it was time for him to leave. While they were happy that the little boy was finally going home, they felt he had become a significant part of their lives.
Priscilla and Emanuele thought their son’s recovery was nothing but a miracle. They believed their Catholic faith helped them deal with the worst phase of their lives, where there was no guarantee that Francesco would live past the first 30 minutes of his life. Emanuele said:
“We feel that we have one guarantee, which is the guarantee of heaven.”\
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