Huge congratulations to Beth and Rick Hutchinson and their nine-month-old son Richard, who is poised to set a new Guinness World Record.

Richard was born prematurely at 21 weeks, and he was only 10.63 inches long and weighed less than a pound. Doctors gave him a 0% chance of survival. But with the help of the doctors and staff of Children’s Minnesota hospital in Minneapolis, and I’m sure a lot of prayers, he’s being called a miracle baby. He’s now 24 inches long, and his mom says he’s a “happy little amazing person.” After his first birthday, he will officially be recognized as the smallest baby ever to survive.

It’s a testament to the advances in modern medicine, Baby Richard’s will to live, his parents and doctors’ refusal to give up on him, and also to the fact that every life, even the smallest, is sacred and precious and can grow up to be a blessing to the world if only given a chance to live.