What Baby Francis William and the Creator of “Finding Dory” Have in Common

What Baby Francis William and the Creator of “Finding Dory” Have in Common

Francis William was born four months early weighing just over a pound and a half. Doctors gave him a 15% chance of survival.

“We had a choice — do everything or do nothing,” said his Mom. “We wanted to give him a chance.”

Francis William’s Dad wanted to know if his son had a real chance of survival. “I didn’t want false hope, like please be honest with me, how is he really doing? I pulled one of the doctors aside and he says, let me just tell you, the numbers are all against Francis.”

The NICU nurses left a handful of markers for the family to create something colorful on the white board used for status updates in Francis William’s room. His Aunt used her creativity to construct a “Finding Nemo” drawing.

That innocuous little drawing lead the family to a greater story of hope.

Francis William’s uncle sent a video of a TED talk featuring Andrew Stanton, Pixar creator of “Finding Nemo” and the latest, “Finding Dory.”

“When I was born, I was born premature. I came out much too early and I wasn’t fully baked,” said Stanton. “I was very, very sick and when the doctor took a look at this yellow kid with black teeth he looked straight at my mom and said, ‘He’s not going to live.’”

“I was in the hospital for months. I lived. Whatever I ended up being good at, I would strive to be worthy of the second chance I was given,” Stanton continued.

WARNING: You will need the Kleenex:

118 days after his birthday, Francis William went home with his family.

For both the creator of “Finding Dory” and Francis William, their families chose, against all odds, to give them a chance at life.

Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye

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