“We decided on the name Victory before he was born. His father loved it, I was skeptical. When my water broke at just 24 weeks, I knew Victory would be the perfect name.” Ebere Onyeador, BSN, RN.

Victory Okunbor was born at just 24 weeks. He spent the first 4 1/2 months of his life as a patient at Mass General Hospital. Victory was diagnosed with GDD (Global Developmental Delays). When he arrived at Early Head Start at 2 years old, he was only crawling, had no vocabulary and all of his foods needed to be pureed as he had difficulty with chewing and swallowing. Over the next year, EHS worked intensely with the family and a talented Early Intervention team to support Victory’s needs and the family’s goals. At 3 years old, Victory was reevaluated, and prepared for a full-time transition into the Lynn Public School system. A year later, he is now walking, jumping and successfully eating all foods. Victory is on the move, physically pushing each day beyond what is comfortable and what was expected of him given his diagnosis. He is a happy guy, laughing and bright, singing his ABCs, counting to 20 and reciting Nursery Rhymes. Perhaps it’s something in the name, destined to win.