Life has changed for Brett Wegner since his son Elliot came into the world three months earlier than expected. Just 1 pound, 16 ounces, his little boy stubbornly battles for life.

“It’s a big emotional roller coaster,” Brett said. “It is 10 years of life pounded into one minute.”

It’s a fusion of joy with worry and pain, he said. The baby, critically ill, is hooked to a collection of high-tech equipment including a ventilator and another machine that periodically shakes him. His mother spends her days by his side in the neonatal intensive care unit and nights at a nearby Ronald McDonald House.

“The doctor says Elliot may not live,” Brett said, “but he’s hanging in there.”

He has carried a photo of Elliot with him since his birth on Oct. 3. Brett, an automotive technician at Obie’s Import & Domestic Repair, pulls the picture out often as he goes about his day. The image shows Elliot reaching for his mother. The baby’s tiny finger is barely longer than Sebrina’s fingernail.

This is not the first time the family has seen heartbreak. Sebrina suffered two previous miscarriages, Brett said, and the death of a baby from sudden infant death syndrome. Another son, Andrew, was born prematurely, but survived and is doing well at age nine.

Sebrina was flown to Portland shortly before Elliot’s birth to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland.

Sebrina’s doctor advised bed rest about a month before Elliot’s birth and her paychecks from working as a caregiver at McKay Creek Estates stopped.

The loss of income means financial pressure. This weekend, instead of traveling to Portland and being with Sebrina and Elliot, Brett moved out of his family’s rented home and in with his sister, unable to afford the rent. The situation is surreal for Brett.

“I’ve never really had to depend on anybody else,” he said.

His employers, David and Peggie Beck, started an account at Bank of the West to help ease the family’s financial stress – the Elliot Lawrence Wegner Fund.”

“They’ve been wonderful,” Brett said of the Becks. “They make me feel like family.”

In the meantime, Elliot keeps a tenuous grip on life, despite oxygen-scarred lungs, kidney problems and a staph infection. He continues to give his parents hope.

“He’s got a good grip,” Brett said. “One day, he kicked off his diaper.”

Peggie Beck said she expects tiny Elliot to grow and gain strength.

“I call him Acorn,” she said. “From the littlest acorn, a mighty oak will grow.”