A newborn who weighed less than one pound at birth is already home from the hospital over a year later.

According to a hospital press release that PEOPLE obtained, Nathan Zarate spent over 300 days in the neonatal critical care unit (NICU) at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge after being born at 25 weeks in November 2023.

He eventually received his release on Wednesday, August 28, despite the path not always being straightforward.

“We’re just grateful that everything worked out the way it did,” Nathan’s mother, Alicia Zarate, tells PEOPLE.

Alicia, 34, and her husband Jonathan Zarate, 36, found out they were expecting their first child together in late June 2023. Alicia tells PEOPLE that the pair was “elated” at the news and anxious to have a family.

The mother claims her pregnancy was very typical, but one day in November, Alicia was driving to work when she noticed Nathan wasn’t moving in her tummy like he usually did.

She claims she even had her husband play Creed’s “Higher” song, which generally got him to kick.
“Play the song,” she remembers urging Jonathan. “If he doesn’t flutter, I’m going to the doctor.”

But Nathan didn’t move. Alicia, filled with concern, visited her doctor the following day, who directed her to the emergency department.

According to the hospital, doctors discovered that Alicia was suffering from pre-eclampsia symptoms as well as a fetal development limitation, which jeopardized Nathan’s life within her womb.

The following day, an emergency c-section delivered Nathan, weighing just 14.3 oz, and immediately intubated him before transferring him to the NICU.

Nathan “was the sickest baby in the NICU” during his first week of life, according to Dr. Michael Cappello, a neonatologist and vice chair of pediatrics at Advocate Children’s Hospital.

In addition to eye damage and infections, the infant required surgery to fix a heart abnormality and had a tracheostomy tube placed to help him breathe.

The hospital’s news statement states that the first two days of the newborn’s life separated Alicia and Jonathan from Nathan. The pair tells PEOPLE that they relied on their religion during that time, as well as in the next difficult weeks.

“We were able to just kind of get through it with prayer, and trusting God’s plan,” Alicia confides to PEOPLE. Her husband, Jonathan, said they trusted that the medical staff caring for their newborn boy was “capable of performing a miracle” and “saving his life.”

In the end, Nathan, who now weighs 14 pounds, persevered—and this week, it was finally time to return home.

Alicia says saying goodbye was a little bittersweet, but “more sweet than bitter,”  and she can’t thank all of the doctors, nurses, and other medical workers for their efforts to keep Nathan alive.

“They’ve gone above and beyond for not only Nathan, but for us with all the support that they’ve done,” she provides to PEOPLE. “It’s just really hard to put into words how grateful we truly are.”

The Zarates are now settling into their new daily lives with Nathan, who continues to need “ventilated support,” according to his parents.

“Now it’s just about finding a way to create a new norm,” Jonathan tells People.

Alicia believes that their tale “can bring hope to many other NICU families,” regardless of how long their child remains there.

“I just want them to know they’re not alone,” the mother told PEOPLE. “There are others who want help and support, and it gets better.”