A baby boy born nearly 12 weeks early and weighing little more than a bag of sugar is continuing his remarkable fight after undergoing open-heart surgery following months of intensive care.

Little Cooper entered the world via emergency C-section on June 13, weighing just 1lb 3oz (540 grams). From his very first moments, he required specialist treatment in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), where he has spent every day of his young life.

Now more than five months later, Cooper has grown to over 10 pounds, a milestone his family once could only dream about.

But while his tiny body has grown stronger, his medical journey is far from over.

His parents, Chris and Christa, have spent more than 150 days traveling back and forth between home and hospital, rarely leaving their son’s side as he continues to require ICU-level care.

Friends say the couple’s world has been placed on hold as they focus entirely on helping Cooper reach the day he can finally come home.

Recently, doctors discovered that Cooper’s condition was more complicated than initially hoped.

A heart catheterization procedure revealed that he would need open-heart surgery to repair a ventricular septal defect (VSD) — commonly known as a hole in the heart. During the procedure, Cooper experienced a serious pulmonary hypertension crisis, leaving his family anxiously waiting for signs of improvement.

Last week, surgeons successfully performed the operation.

Doctors attempted to remove his breathing tube the following day, but Cooper quickly showed he still needed additional respiratory support. He remains sedated and on a ventilator while his body recovers from the major surgery.

Despite the setback, his parents say there are encouraging signs.

Over recent days, Cooper has maintained stable oxygen levels and has gradually required less breathing support. Medical teams are now carefully reducing some of his medications in hopes that he can soon tolerate another attempt at breathing independently.

Adding to the challenges, Cooper continues to battle pulmonary hypertension, a condition affecting the blood vessels in the lungs that can make breathing especially difficult for premature infants.

His family remains hopeful that the specialized care available at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta will help him make further progress. This week, Cooper is being transferred to Atlanta, where doctors will continue working toward the ultimate goal — bringing him home.

“We’ve celebrated every ounce gained, every good day, every small step forward,” his parents shared. “Cooper has taught us more about strength than we ever thought possible.”

They added: “There have been difficult moments, but he keeps showing us how hard he’s willing to fight. We can’t wait for the day we finally walk through our front door with him.”

For now, Cooper’s journey continues one day at a time.

And while most babies his age are discovering the world from the comfort of home, this tiny fighter is proving that even the smallest hearts can carry extraordinary courage.