An Indiana couple is thankful for the miracle of life after their son was given a grim chance of survival – only to fight against the odds.

Daniel Breyts was told to start preparing for his newborn’s funeral before he was able to hold his son, Rowan, who was born three months early on April 11, 2018, and suffered from Necrotizing Enterocolitis, an aggressive infectious disease that attacked his intestines.

Jessica Novac, his mother, told Fox News Rowan is her “hero” after all he’s been through.

“Without a small intestine, he could never eat. He would never grow. He was too small to hope for a transplant. It was a death sentence,” Breyts said of the diagnosis. “We kissed him and cried, telling him how much we loved him and wished there was something we could do.”

The couple spent as much time with him as they could, offering him kind words and apologies through tears, but instead of getting worse, Rowan’s condition improved.

“Jess and I spoke at length and decided that he wasn’t giving up… neither would we,” Breyts said.

They contacted Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, which offered to take his case and even mentioned the possibility of a transplantation of his intestines.

Four days later he went into surgery, and the doctors had some shocking news.

“She told me they saw a lot of pink viable intestine, which was the exact opposite of what we had been told,” Breyts said.

After seven months in NICU, Rowan was able to make his first trip home.

“Seeing him myself and knowing where he came from as far as how small he was and the issues that he had, in my heart he is a miracle,” Breyts told FOX 59. “He’s an honest-to-God miracle.”

While they still have many appointments and things to do at home medically, Novac said she is thankful for so many people and spiritually excited to plan her son’s future. Many have donated to their PayPal account to help cover the medical costs.

At birth, Rowan weighed a little over a pound and was about the size of his mother’s hand, but today, he is 14 pounds, 6 ounces and “growing like a weed!”