October 21, 2015

Publication title: CTV Vancouver, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Vancouver
Writer: Unknown

Miracle baby from Newborn ICU grows up to sing with Sarah McLachlan

Seven Taviss shouldn’t have lived.

He was born months earlier than expected, at just 21 weeks, to Gigi and Derek Taviss. The doctors told them he might not survive.

“I went to the hospital and they said, well, the baby’s not viable. It’s only 21 weeks,” Gigi said. “I was in a panic, crying, like what was I going to do?”

Seven Tavviss was born months early, and weighed only 985 grams. Thanks to the BC Women’s Hospital, he’s now a healthy teenager with a beautiful singing voice.

At birth he weighed only 985 grams and had fragile skin. His lungs were also underdeveloped, and needed special treatment to avoid collapsing.

One of the hardest parts for the parents was the long wait to hold their son.

“They couldn’t bring the baby to me, and you feel sad because you really want to hold that baby and you can’t,” Gigi said. “You want to feed it and you want to care for it and you really cant.”

It was a difficult time for the Taviss family, but with the help of BC Women’s Hospital’s Newborn Intensive Care Unit, they persevered.

Now, Seven is an active 16-year-old and quite the singer. Over the weekend he even performed with Sarah Maclachlan at the BC Women’s GLOW Gala, an event held to raise funds for the Hope Starts Here campaign in support of the Newborn ICU.