Miracle baby

By AMANDA RICKER Chronicle Staff Writer

BELGRADE - Peering through her new quarter-size eyeglasses, 14-month-old Rhoby Combs held onto her mom’s neck with one hand and reached out her other.

 
SEAN SPERRY/CHRONICLE Aimee Combs, left, holds her daughter, Rhoby, as Rhoby’s father Ray sits in the background. Rhoby was born nearly four months early. “Give her a high five,” Aimee Combs said, prodding her daughter.

Rhoby smiled and stretched her tiny fingers apart as a visitor put a palm against hers.

Princess Rhoby - as her family and friends know her - and her parents, Aimee and Ray Combs are just beginning to celebrate life as a family.

When Rhoby was born four months early in February 2008, she was so tiny that her dad’s wedding ring fit around her arm.

A micro-preemie weighing 1 pound 3 ounces, Rhoby was the smallest baby in the state of Montana at the time. Her twin brother, Will, who weighed slightly less, died after 22 minutes of life.

“They didn’t think she was going to survive,” Aimee, 27, said. “They gave us a 20 percent chance of survival.”

“She’s our miracle baby,” said Ray, 50.

The family plans to spend a quiet Mother’s Day together at home today. Rhoby’s gift to her mom will be nothing - no new medical issues, no new worry, no immediate crisis. And that is exactly what Aimee wants.