PARRISH, Fla. — A Manatee County couple welcomes home their daughter, who was born significantly premature after a nine-month hospital stay.
Jasmyne Gambrah-Silgnena and her husband, Jeff, brought home their baby girl in late September.
WATCH: Manatee County baby born significantly premature goes home after 9-month NICU stay
She spent the past nine months at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.
She was born at 23 weeks and weighed a little more than one pound.
"It was like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, you know. It's been like 9 months since we've been going back and forth," said Jeff Silgnena.
In September, their daughter, Snoh, graduated from the hospital's NICU. She sported a cap and gown for the occasion.
"Everything that I thought mattered no longer matters. This is my world right here, and her being sick like that really showed me how strong I am," said Jasmyne.
The couple said their daughter remains on oxygen and still needs a feeding tube.
"We're so blessed because everything that she has is something that she'll grow out of eventually, and it's not always the case when you're born so early," said Jasmyne.
The couple said there is a special meaning behind their daughter's name.
"There is a song that we like by a singer named Snoh Aalegra, and then she was born on Christmas Eve, and then like snow, I looked it up, and it means new beginning, freedom, purity, and I thought that was really fitting for her," said Jasmyne.
Jasmyne and her husband spent months traveling back and forth to the hospital. The couple said their house feels like a home.
Their daughter has made remarkable progress and weighs 16 pounds.
"I just hope that like Snoh's story helps a family out there and like they just keep going and they keep showing up for their kids," said Jasmyne.
"You think pregnancy and bringing a baby home, it's just all like flowers and just peaches and roses or whatever, but there's a scary side of it too."
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