this was an experimental procedure? it was definitely cutting edge. reporter: miraculously, it worked. abigail was born at 28 weeks with no kidneys but lungs able to sustain life. a medical first. we would expect a performing normal childhood for her. she will need a kidney transplant and daily dialysis until she gets one. she will spend her first six months here at lucille packard children s hospital at stanford. stanford, johns hopkins it takes a village. yeah. reporter: a very smart village. it does. reporter: the multimillion dollar treatment plan covered by medicare and the congressional health plan. you are not getting much of a maternity leave. i gather you are going back for the syria vote. yeah, i am, it s important. i ll still be here, though. i am very jealous. a miracle for mom and dad and especially for little abigail. david wright, abc news, palo alto. getting a little misty.
alexander says the baby suffers from potter s syndrome. it s really rare. really rare. one in 60,000 i think. the doctor he just said, it s, it s just like he said, this is not compatible with life. she is not going to live. as he was saying it i could feel her moving. reporter: inside her the baby was kicking. almost as if she disagreed with the doctor. there are a lot of parents who would hear that from a doctor. uh-huh. uh-huh. reporter: and make a choice to terminate? we knew that the butlers, all three of them, chose to fight for abigail s life. potter s syndrome caused by a critical lack of amniotic fluid meant the baby s lungs and kidneys couldn t form properly. the butlers found a specialist willing to infuse saline, replacing the amniotic fluid.
miracle medicine and one part the will of a miracle baby. abigail rose was born premature, with a normally fatal disease this summer. as we head into the fall, she is making a comeback no one has ever made before. abc s david wright has the story. reporter: jamie is a member of congress who for the moment has a constituency of one. little abigail buckler, born this summer, 3 months premature with a birth defect that would normally be fatal. welcome to parenthood. you know, every day is so exciting. sorry. full of so much joy because we didn t think we would ever be here. reporter: the butlers word changed may 20th during what was supposed to be a routine pregnancy scan. i would tell there was something different. he just, he kind of went ashen, the ultrasound tech. the technician couldn t see any kidneys. you will have to take my word for it, there is no kidney there. reporter: dr. steven