How Harry Potter Helped This Tiny Baby Fight For Her Life

J.K. Rowling herself called her 'the girl who lived'.

Baby
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Baby

Baby Juniper was born premature, at just 23 weeks and weighing just one pound, 4 ounces. The tiny baby had to spend the first part of her life fighting to survive in the hospital.

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And her parents found a magical way to help her get better. Her dad Tom opened up the first Harry Potter book and began to read aloud to her.

At first, Juniper's mum, Kelley, thought this was a crazy idea - they weren't even sure at this point if their baby girl would survive the night. But Tom was insistent and reading Harry Potter aloud became a ritual for the parents.

'Stories are a promise,' said Tom, 'They are a promise that the ending is worth waiting for.'

Kelley says that although baby Juniper, of course, couldn't understand the story, they could tell from the way her monitor beeped that she liked the parts about Hermione best - and that she didn't like the gruff Hagrid voice her dad did. Juniper's breathing and temperature were more stable whilst Tom was reading to her in a comforting voice and they'd witness her oxygen levels drop if he stopped.

Juniper pulled through and when she was 5 years old, a very special parcel arrived at her home for her. It was a set of Harry Potter books, personally sent by J.K. Rowling with the following message: 'To Juniper, the girl who lived! Lots of love, J.K. Rowling'

Truly magical!

This Harry Potter actress is having a baby This Harry Potter actress is having a baby