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FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Raelyn Absmeier was born ten weeks early, a fragile two pounds 13 ounces. Doctors said the road ahead for her looks good but it will be a long road.
Raelyn will likely be at St. Jude Medical Center's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for a couple of months.
As she grows, her mother can only touch her occasionally. Her father, Jacob Absmeir, cannot touch her at all. He's serving in Afghanistan, and was shipped out from Fort Collins, Colorado, in March, before his daughter was born.
Still, even a world away, he can see her by logging on to his computer. The hospital has 14 web-cams positioned at each baby bed. Those cameras are linked to the internet making these baby cams available anywhere.
Jacob said seeing his daughter makes it a little more real for him.
Raelyn's mother said it has been difficult, but she is hopeful.
"Sometimes I break down but I'm trying to stay strong for her," she said.
So, the Absmeier family watches every breath: from Fullerton, California to Colorado to Afghanistan.
