Alex's Start to Life: The Autobiography of a Survivor

Overview

This story of hope and survival is written through the eyes of 7 year old Alex Skulte, who pieces together his difficult start to life from personal memories and family stories. Born at 26 weeks gestation and weighing less than two pounds, Alex faces tremendous odds from birth. As an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit, he suffers brain hemorrhaging, meningitis, and other complications. At nearly six months old and weighing only five pounds, his parents finally bring him home from the hospital to begin their lives as a family. With the companionship of his little sister, Isabella, Alex struggles against cerebral palsy and epilepsy, to eventually learn to walk and run. Alex's story is an incredible but simple tale of courage and determination, an important story for parents of premature children, for children who struggle with the complications of a premature birth, and for anyone facing a life challenge.