ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996               TAG: 9610280164
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL   PAGE: A-14 EDITION: METRO

HANDFUL, SOON TO BE A HOUSE FULL

LENGTH: Short :   29 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  AP. 1. Tanya Mitchell (above) holds her 4-month-old 

          daughter, Glenna Bernice Mitchell, Friday in the Grand Rapids, 

          Mich., hospital where Glenna was born more than two months 

          premature. 2. She barely filled dad Tom Mitchell's hands at birth 

          (below), weighing just 14 ounces. But she's set to go home today and

          is being called a medical miracle. Glenna was born by Caesarean 

          section July 7 after doctors said her 25-year-old mother's high 

          blood pressure and other health problems were endangering mother and

          baby. In early August, the infant became critically ill and her 

          weight dropped to 12 ounces. But she rallied - doctors don't know 

          why - and now weighs 41/2 pounds, drinks formula and requires no 

          medication. She is the smallest baby to survive at Blodgett Memorial

          Medical Center and may well be the smallest baby to survive born at 

          any U.S. medical facility. ``We're just waiting for her to come home

          and fill the house. ... It's been a long time,'' her mother said. 

          color.
by CNB