Colsen Knox entered the world 16 weeks early on March 5, 2025."He was a pound and a half, so he was itty bitty," Savannah Jones, Colsen's mother, said.After spending more than 400 days fighting in the neonatal intensive care uni t, Colsen has endured surgeries, setbacks and constant care. Despite the challenges, Jones said her son's spirit has never changed."He gets poked and picked at and had surgeries and all these things, but truly, since he was like at the gestational age to smile, he has smiled," Jones said.The experience has been life-altering for the family."You kind of just get thrown into the NICU. It's something that we never thought about during my pregnancy with Colsen until we were in it," Jones said.Jones credits the medical staff at UK for helping them navigate the past year, specifically mentioning his primary nurses, Emerson and Anna."The NICU team, they are amazing," Jones said. "They are the reason that we have gotten through this year the way that we have, especially his primary nurses, Emerson and Anna, like they have become my best friends, but they're like Colsen's aunts at this point."Amid the uncertainty, the family found ways to hold onto hope and look toward the future. They are hoping to leave the hospital and be home by May."We're hoping to be home by May. It's like as soon as we start planning, something happens. So we say we're going to the zoo," Jones said.As Colsen grows stronger, weighing nearly 21 pounds today, his family is finally preparing for their next steps outside the hospital."We just started saying go to the zoo, and so now we're excited to bring him home, but also actually go to the zoo," Jones said.Through the journey, the family has learned to appreciate every moment of Colsen's progress."Take all the pictures. Celebrate every single milestone, every gram, you know, that they gain. They open their eyes for the first time," Jones said.To help Colsen get to the zoo, you can find the link to the GoFundMe here. ...read more read less